Finding more
by dusk-pixie
Summary: After the death of his parents in a car accident and his older brothers suicide, Sasuke is alone in the world. Naruto is a kind-hearted cop who takes him in. Sasuke wants more than a house, he wants a home. Will he find it? NB: boyxboy, NaruSasu, lemon
1. Chapter 1

NaruSasu pairing, AU/AH, slash, **yaoi**, romance, mature, hurt/comfort -

A/N:

This is set in the real world, 2005. Characters' personalities may differ from Kishimoto's as they have different experiences.

In this story, Naruto is a 23-yr-old police detective and Sasuke is 17, six months prior to the beginning of this story his parents were in a fatal car accident.

~dusk.

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the characters; they belong to the brilliant Kishimoto.

* * *

Chapter One

_Saturday, June 4, 2005 – 7:43PM_

The police radio buzzed in the quiet of the car and a voice sounded through the static.

"Vehicle number 291, do you copy? Over."

"Yeah, this is Naruto, vehicle 291, I copy. Over."

"Please proceed to number two, Orchard Street. Twenty-two year old male, Itachi Uchiha, suspected suicide, no visible note or witnesses, pronounced DOA by medics on site. Over."

"Yeah, okay, heading to the scene now. Over." Naruto sighed. Yet another wasted life. Sometimes he wanted to bang his head against a wall – the suicide victim was just a year younger than himself...how could he possibly not have something or someone to live for? He had been close by, having just finished dealing with a domestic dispute that got out of hand. He suppressed a smile as he thought about walking into the small apartment kitchen to see a middle-aged man in nothing but his underwear being chased around by his wife with a frying pan and hair curler as her weapons, screaming like a banshee. Some days the job was good; some days the job made the world look like a bleak place to be.

Looking up ahead to his right, he saw the tell tale flashing lights of the ambulance, indicating the house where he would be stopping. Pulling up to the curb, he took in his surroundings. Messy flower beds, lawn that needed a good mowing, weeds that were beginning to outgrow the small plants, a letterbox whose hinge was unfixed and leaves left over from autumn scattered throughout the yard. He frowned. The house didn't match the rest of the neighbourhood, which was a pristine suburban paradise.

Walking in through the front gate, he approached one of the medics. Ah, what was her name again? Inuki? Ino? That was it – Ino. He'd seen her around a few times – cops and medics invariably met up at one way or another. He smiled and said, "Hey Ino. How's things? I'm guessing this'll be a bad one today." She looked up from her clipboard.

"Oh...Hi. Yeah," she nodded towards the front porch at a slim, pale teenager with black hair who was wrapped in a blanket. "Bad, going on worse. Twenty-two year old male, deceased, was discovered by his seventeen-year-old brother. As if that's not tragic enough, their parents were in a fatal car accident just six months ago. He's on his own now...he mentioned that there was no other family we could contact." She shook her head grimly. Naruto was beginning to see why the house was falling into disrepair. Both boys were really just kids trying to cope with the death of their parents. Evidently, the older brother hadn't felt ready to play parent to a teenager.

"What are the details? I need to get a move on. Victim's name was Itachi, right? I need to know," he paused to think about which details would be important. "How did the deceased die, how certain are you that it's suicide, how long has he been dead and what is the name of the younger brother, etc."

Ino glanced at her clipboard before responding, "Ummm...Itachi Uchiha, died due to blood loss – appears to have slit both wrists in the bath. We are almost completely certain it was suicide. There were tell tale false starts which were inflicted prior to the deepest wound on his left wrist, and Sasuke – that's the younger brother – had to break the door to get in, as it was locked from the inside. It's hard to tell as he was sitting in a warm bath full of water, but we estimate that he's been dead for at least two hours. The only things we moved when we arrived where the towels and bath mat, and we couldn't find a note in the immediate vicinity, but...there could still be one in the house somewhere. Uhh...is there anything else I can help you with? It's just that...we need to transport the body back to the morgue, you know?"

"Huh? Ah, yeah that's fine. Don't worry about...Sasuke?...Sasuke. I'll work out something...find him a place to stay. Thanks, Ino. See ya." He finished scribbling down the known facts on his notepad and then, with a brief hand raised in farewell to Ino, he turned and walked over to the boy sitting on the steps of the porch. He spoke softly, "Hey...Sasuke, right? I'm Detective Naruto Uzumaki, but…don't worry over formality and just call me Naruto. Have you got any friends or relatives that you could contact and stay with?"

Sasuke stared at him with large eyes that were a shade of dark, liquid brown that was almost black and said in a voice barely louder than a whisper. "No...There's no one. It was j-just...us." A tear rolled down his cheek unchecked and Naruto, feeling insensitive, passed him a tissue and waited for the boy to dry his eyes before he spoke again.

"Alrighty then, Sasuke...you just wait here a moment. I'm just gonna go inside and look over a few things and then you can come back to HQ with me, at least until we work something out." The only acknowledgement the boy gave was a slight nod of the head before hugging he knees to his chest and turning his head away.

He headed into the large single story family home. He noted down that much like the garden, the house looked as though it had once been a warm, welcoming, tidy family home whereas now it was dank and dark, all curtains drawn and in need of dusting and airing. He briefly looked at the bloodied bathroom with distaste, bagging the razor as evidence. He closed the door, then moved down the hallway opening doors as he went.

The first door to his right led to an unused master bedroom. Obviously the boys' parents. Moving on, he next door on the left led to one of the boys' rooms. He assumed it was Sasuke's as the desk was strewn with text books, work books and stationary. At the very end of the hallway on the left was the last bedroom. It was immaculately clean – the deceased probably wanted to be remembered as neat and considerate, Naruto thought – and there was a single sheet of paper in the printer. He snagged it with gloved fingers and read:

"Dear Sasuke,

My little brother...how are you going to understand why I couldn't stay anymore? Mom and Dad...they are gone...gone...from this world. I don't know what to do anymore. The bills just keep arriving and I can't afford to pay, your school fees are due and I can't afford those either – but you are so damn smart, so I can't pull you out of school; Mom and Dad always said you were going somewhere – their "smart little achiever" – and who am I to pull you away from it? After all, I'm just the older brother who doesn't know what to do with his life.

And then, there was a falling out between me and my friends. "Why can't you go out? Come on, it's just a round of poker...stop being so tight...geez, your no fun anymore, Itachi." It's...it's just too much, Sasuke. How much do I have to lose? What happened to my life? You...would probably be better off without me...all we do is fight since Mom and Dad died. I don't understand you and I'm too young to take care of you through high school and university. I just wanted to live my own life and not worry about all this. I'm not good at this whole family thing, and instead of having a proper back up plan for if they died, our parents left it to me to deal with. I don't know how to deal with this. Money wise...I'm sure someone will take you in and provide for you...you'll be much better off. Better off, for sure.

I'm sorry. You're smart, you'll manage.

I love you.  
Goodbye.  
Your Loving Brother, Itachi."

Naruto re-read it. He glanced pityingly towards the front door...it would probably break the kid to read this. Well, there was really nothing he could do about it. He bagged the note and took the laptop as evidence, as proof the note was really made by Itachi. Making the decision that what he had was more than enough, he headed back out to the porch.

The boy was still sitting in exactly the same spot and position as Naruto had left him in. He thought about asking the boy to grab some clothes, but decided that he probably wasn't ready to re-enter the house. "Sasuke. We have to get going. That blue car on the curb is mine...go ahead and jump into the front passenger seat; the doors are already unlocked. HQ...that is, the police headquarters, are about twenty minutes from here, so I'll just lock up here and we can head off." Sasuke stood and moved silently towards the car while Naruto locked up the house.

As soon as he had hopped into the car, Naruto turned off the police radio and flicked on the normal radio. He flicked until he hit a classical music station playing light, bland music and left that to run as background noise. No way was he sitting in awkward silence for a twenty minute drive to the police headquarters.

Sasuke sat huddled in the passenger seat. To distract himself from the grief in his heart, he slowly started to take note of his surroundings. From what he could see of it, the car was quite clean, smelled like pine needles and there was a small, cute fox plushie hanging from the rear-view mirror...he wondered if the officer had a girlfriend who had put it there. Then he moved onto the man driving. His name, he remembered, was Naruto Uzumaki. From his observations, Sasuke decided that the man was probably quite young, somewhere in his twenties. He had a calm demeanour, and looked like someone who laughed more than they frowned. He was a little taller than Sasuke's 5'7'...perhaps 5'10'? His eyes were blue and he had the slim, toned build of an athlete…

So far, this man had been quite kind and there had been no probing questions into his brother's—He squeezed his eyes shut, and tried to stop himself from thinking about it. If he didn't think about it, he couldn't worry. There were so many things to worry about now – where to live, living expenses, school. He felt the car come to a gentle stop and the engine click off. Naruto said quietly, "We're at HQ, Sasuke."


	2. Chapter 2

After the death of his parents in a car accident and his older brothers suicide, Sasuke is left alone in the world. Naruto is a kind-hearted cop who takes him in. Sasuke wants to find more than a house, he wants a home. Will he find it?

Warning: NaruSasu pairing, AU/AH, slash, yaoi, romance, mature, hurt/comfort

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the characters; they belong to the brilliant Kishimoto.

Chapter Two

_Sunday, June 5, 2005 – 1:20AM_

"What are we supposed to do with him?" asked Shikamaru, quietly clicking through the computer files, while barely seeming to read them. "There is _no one_ listed here that could possibly take him in. All of his parents' relatives are deceased, and he doesn't seem to have any god parents listed. Even our emergency foster carers are full. Every person Chouji has called is either in another country, or isn't willing to take on the burden of another mouth to feed – especially a teenager about to go into university. In fact, Ms.–" he read off the screen. "Shimura even pointed out that he'll be 18 soon and that he should be able to care for himself."

"No local emergency housing? How about a shelter maybe...?" asked Lee, looking at the boy in question who was sitting in the tea room.

"They won't accept him," Shikamaru said, already shaking his head in dismissal. "Technically he doesn't need a house and emergency housing is only for the homeless. He also doesn't fit the criteria for going to a shelter...Anyone have any ideas?"

Naruto raised a hand. "He can stay with me if he wants."

"But—" started Shikamaru.

"I'm registered as an emergency care contact. You can check," he blushed and scratched his head, embarrassed to notice that they were gaping at him in shock.

"_You?_" said Lee incredulously.

Naruto frowned at him. "Yes, me. It's not that much of a shock, is it?" Again, they all just stared. Shikamaru clacked away furiously on his computer to confirm or deny. Looking up, he gave the others a nod. "See...? Look, I was adopted when I was a baby. My adoptive parents were really good people. They used to foster kids that were in their late teens, and when I got old enough to understand that it's unusual, I asked them why. They explained...well, basically, many families are happy to look after a cute little kid but as the kids get older and often start to have more issues, many foster parents don't want to deal with it and will only foster under fourteens. When I starting working, and had a place of my own...I thought I should do my part. Everyone deserves a chance."

With everyone seemingly still in shock, Chouji was the first to speak. "I think...that would probably be okay. His brother wasn't murdered, so there's no conflict of interest as there would have been with an investigation. Also, we know you; you're kind and a responsible guy. I really don't see any other option and...well, if the kid doesn't object to it, I really see no problem..."

When everyone nodded in agreement, Chouji walked across to the tea room purposefully. They watched as he and Sasuke exchanged words, with Sasuke looking surprised and suspicious. After a couple of minutes they saw Sasuke nod his head, and Chouji smile.

Chouji re-entered the room. "He says it's fine," said Chouji happily. "I really think he was afraid of going back to his house alone. So, if you're all set then, Naruto...I'm heading off. It's been a long night and we're not getting overtime, so, I think you should all consider doing the same. G'night."

_2:06AM_

Naruto unlocked the front door, flipped on the lights and ushered Sasuke into his front hallway. Sasuke looked around disinterestedly – it was really a fairly average place. Medium double-story suburban house, most likely three or four bedrooms, decent front yard, double garage and only about a 30 minute drive from police HQ.

Naruto locked the front door and was leading Sasuke towards a homey kitchen. Catching a glimpse of Sasuke's pale, drained face over his shoulder, Naruto changed paths, turning right towards the staircase, and instead led him upstairs while he said, "I think we'll skip the tour 'til tomorrow morning. We're both too tired for anything but sleep right now. You'll be in the guest room opposite my bedroom upstairs – it's nice, has its own en suite and everything."

They reached the room and Sasuke looked away from Naruto awkwardly and cleared his throat, blushing."I...uh...I don't have any, you know, clothes."

"Ah, don't worry about it, for now I'll loan you a shirt and some trackie pants and tomorrow we'll go shopping for some new stuff," Naruto replied, assuming he wasn't ready go back to his own house and this was confirmed when Sasuke made no objection. Grabbing some clothing out of the wardrobe in his own room, Naruto quietly handed the bundle to Sasuke. "If you need anything during the night...anything at all...don't hesitate to call out. I'm a light sleeper, so I'll be there in a flash."

Sasuke nodded slightly, slipped into the room and gently shut the door. He slid into the clothes Naruto had given him noticing that they were miles too big for him. He went into the bathroom to wash his face, and stared at his reflection. There were deep purple circles beneath his eyes, denoting his weariness and grief. After splashing his face with cold water, he crawled into the big double bed, and curled up beneath the crisp linen sheets and soft doona. He heard the floor creak as Naruto moved around his own bedroom and bathroom across the hall, preparing for bed. Closing his eyes, he drifted into a restless sleep.

Naruto awoke, his sleep interrupted by a distressed scream from the guest room. The red numerals on his beside clock indicated that it was 4:34am. Quickly throwing a t-shirt over his Calvin Klein pyjama pants, he crossed the hallway briefly rapping his knuckles on the door before entering.

The room was dark, but Naruto could see the outline of Sasuke, hunched up against the headboard, hands over his face, screaming. Naruto turned on the en suite light, opening the door to emit a faint glow and chase the shadows from the room. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he placed his hands lightly on Sasuke's shoulders and gave a gentle shake. Naruto asked, "Sasuke? Are you awake? What's wrong?"

"I-I-I was dreaming and...oh god...th-there was s-s-so much blood...and I tried...but it j-just kept going...and his h-hands, his hands – they were already so cold...and I couldn't h-help...an-and he's gone now...I'm all a-a-alone now...they all left m-me. Why did they a-all l-leave me?" The screaming had abated now, and the boy in front of him dissolved into ragged, heart wrenching sobs.

After a moment of indecision, Naruto settled back against the headboard and pulled the slim youth into his arms, gently rocking him and making soothing, shushing noises. It was no surprise really that Sasuke had had a nightmare. So much had happened within the last few hours, on top of his parents' recent deaths. Sasuke's cries slowly ceased and his breathing slowed. They stayed sitting like that for a while, Sasuke allowing Naruto to comfort him until he fell asleep once more. Naruto eased the sleeping boy back onto the bed and covered him up before returning to his own bed.


	3. Chapter 3

Warning: NaruSasu pairing, AU/AH, slash, **yaoi**, romance, mature, hurt/comfort -

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters; they belong to the brilliant Kishimoto Masashi.

Chapter Three

_Sunday, June 5, 2005 – 10:51AM_

Sasuke woke up, disoriented. He was...that's right. He was at Naruto's place. He put his head in his hands and groaned, mortified. Of all things, Naruto had had to see him act like that last night. He was _beyond_ embarrassed. He sat up, and noticed that there was a pair of faded blue jeans and a dark blue t-shirt folded neatly on the end of the bed. Picking them up to take them to the en suite so he could shower and change, he noticed something drop and felt his cheeks flaming as he realised it was a pair of black boxer shorts.

There was a note pinned to the boxers, reading simply: _Don't worry, they are brand new – in the top draw of the dresser in your room are a stack of unused male boxers and briefs in case friends unexpectedly stay the night. –Naruto_. He crossed the room to check, and sure enough the drawer was entirely filled with men's underwear. Curiosity struck, and he pulled open the second draw. For the second time in as many minutes, his face flamed as he looked at a drawer full of women's undergarments.

Fifteen minutes later, Sasuke walked tentatively into the kitchen. Naruto, who was already sitting at the table with a bowl of food and the newspaper, looked up and smiled. He gestured towards the stove with his spoon and said, "There's warm porridge in that pot if you want some, or there's toast and cereal in the pantry. Bowls and plates are in the left cupboard above the stove, cups in the right and cutlery's in the top drawer to the right of the oven."

Sasuke grabbed a bowl and served himself before sitting opposite Naruto at the table. He suddenly felt very shy, keeping his head down as he ate. Naruto hid a smile as he noticed the youth's sudden discomfort.

Awkwardly, Sasuke started, "Do...do you have work today...or something...?"

"Nah, I called in earlier and swapped to do Monday's day shift instead, that way we have plenty of time to go shopping and so on," Naruto replied easily.

"Oh," Sasuke said, unsure of how to respond. He kept eating his breakfast silently for a few minutes before speaking again. "What time are...we...going shopping?"

"As soon as you're done with breakfast, we'll head off...but there's no rush," he said smiling kindly.

A few hours later they arrived back at Naruto's place. Sasuke was surprised. Without stopping to look at prices or anything, Naruto had bought him eight full bags of clothes. He bought anything that Sasuke had indicated he liked. When he asked Sasuke about school books, Sasuke had gone quiet, not wanting to go back home just yet. Then, with the same level of understanding as he had displayed so far, Naruto asked him to scribble down a list of books he needed, offering to pick them up on his way home from work on Monday.

At eight-thirty, Naruto and Sasuke had a late dinner, with a more relaxed attitude than that morning's breakfast, though Sasuke had become quieter over the day, obviously mourning his brother's death. "So...what are your plans for tomorrow, Sasuke? I leave for work at about 6:30am and I probably won't be home until sometime around 7:30pm," Naruto asked. Sasuke looked away, considering the question.

"I...I'm definitely not going to school tomorrow," he said. "Everyone will have questions and opinions and I don't really want to hear about it all. In fact...I think I might take the whole week off."

"I expected as much," Naruto said gently. "But that still leaves the question of what you're planning to do with yourself tomorrow...do you want me to take you to DVD Palace so you have something to watch tomorrow? Or...you know, anything like that...?"

Watching Naruto out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke tried to gauge his reaction when he said, "Well...I thought...I might go to HQ with you?" He saw Naruto's eyebrows go up, and quickly added, "It's just...I don't want to be alone and...you wouldn't have to take care of me or anything...I could just sit in the tea room like last night and...maybe read one of the books you bought me today? I..I really wouldn't cause you any trouble..."

Naruto looked thoughtful. "I guess that's fine," he finally said. "I'll pick up some of your school books on the way to HQ though...you can at least keep up with your studies then. Yeah. That'll work out fine. Anyway, go on and head off to bed. Early start tomorrow."

Arriving at work that morning with Sasuke in tow had achieved some astonished stares. After settling Sasuke in the back corner of the tea room, Naruto made to go to his office. Before he could even put down his briefcase, Chouji called out to him, "Hey...hey, Naruto. Chief wants you in her office, like...five seconds ago."

"Got it, Chouji. I'm on my way," replied Naruto, already shedding his jacket and moving towards the door. He strode over to the chief's office, one of very few in the building that actually had a nice view, shutting the door behind him.

"Ma'am, you wanted to see me?"

"Naruto, sit down and for god's sake, don't be so formal. We've known each other for five years now. Hell, you were my partner for a short stint when you were a rookie, back before I got my promotion," she said smiling. Naruto grinned back.

"Fine, fine, Shizune. Now, why am I here?" he asked. Shizune sighed.

"Like you don't already know," she stared at him, then sighed and continued. "You are here to answer the question...why is he here? It's the brother from yesterday's suicide victim, correct? I know you took him in...but why is he _here_?"

"Look, he just couldn't bear to be alone at home – my, a stranger's, home – by himself. And you know as well as I do, he's not ready to go back to school and face all of his friends," suddenly Naruto grinned. "Besides, yesterday he plucked up the courage to ask to come in with me. How could I say no after that?"

"Mph. Well, I guess it's okay for now – but just for this week. Next week he either goes back to school or finds something else to do with his time, right?" Shizune said, watching Naruto's face relax.

"Thanks heaps, Shizu-chan," Naruto said, smiling.

"By the way, Naruto, I noticed on the emergency housing form, you listed him as an indefinite housemate. And," she said, staring at him hard. "I know he's your type...but he's seventeen. A _minor_. I hope you aren't thinking of doing anything...inappropriate...with him. Because, as your superior, I would be forced to take action. Regardless of whether you are my friend or not."

"Come on, give me a little more credit than that. What kind of a guy do you think I am?" he said, pretending to look hurt, before grinning once more. " First off, I listed him as a indefinite housemate so that he doesn't get forced to leave when he turns eighteen because he's no longer a minor. And...I promise I won't do anything...at least not until he's eighteen."

He ducked out of Shizune's office before she could say anything else and headed over to his desk, chuckling at the glare she had given him. But she had been right, and he had meant what he said. Sasuke _was_ his type. But he wasn't about to take advantage of a grieving seventeen-year-old boy. He would wait until Sasuke turned eighteen, and even then nothing would happen unless Sasuke was willing.

He then noticed Chouji pointing him towards the central phone and computer room. He nodded, and headed across to see Shikamaru. He had known Shikamaru and Chouji since seventh grade, with all of them enrolling in the police force together when they finished high school. Shikamaru looked up briefly when he entered. He indicated for Naruto to wait a moment while he switched between radio frequencies and directed various police personal to where they were needed. After about five minutes, Shikamaru finally took off the headset as a couple of rookies took over to practice.

"So...what can I do for you, Shika?" asked Naruto, leaning against the door frame.

"Everything going alright with the kid?" he replied, ignoring Naruto's question.

"Yeah, he's quiet, but well behaved and polite, so no trouble at all really. He had some nightmares last night, but it's not like that's a surprise. And no, I'm not doing anything inappropriate with him. Yet. So," said Naruto rolling his eyes, "if you aren't just checking up on me, and don't think I don't know that you'll report this to Chouji later on, freaking lovebirds that you are...what can I do for you, Shika?" Shikamaru laughed at Naruto's good-humoured jabs before getting on with his main point.

"Okay, okay. Anyway, Shino's checking up on parolees today, but since most of them have a violent past, you know it's policy to send at least two personnel. He requested you partner him today, and I didn't think you'd mind."

"Ah, I see. Yeah, that's fine. Will ya do me a favour though? Keep an eye on Sasuke and make sure you or Chouji spends a bit of time with him when you have breaks. I don't want him to over-think things...he's already trying his best not to show his grief. It's tough to pretend your life isn't falling apart."

Naruto looked away, and Shikamaru knew he was thinking about his adoptive father's murder two years ago, which occurred only three months after his adoptive mother had passed away after a long struggle with pancreatic cancer. It had been a tough time for Naruto, but Chouji and Shika had been there for him and helped him pull through. Snapping out of the glum air settling around the conversation, Naruto smiled and said, "I'm off. See ya later, Shika."

A/N: Whoa...chapter three finally complete - hopefully my proofing was okay ^_^' So these were the completed chapters I had done - now I have to write and proof some new ones, which means there will be a bit of a delay (plus I have a criminology exam next week so...yeah. When I update depends on how much sleep I cut out, and how much study I complete.)

Hope your enjoying so far, comments welcome ^_^  
~dusk.


	4. Chapter 4

Warning: NaruSasu pairing, AU/AH, slash, yaoi, romance, mature, hurt/comfort

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the characters; they belong to the brilliant Kishimoto.

* * *

Chapter Four

After leaving the CPC (the central phone and computer room's informal title), Naruto headed over to the change rooms where he figured Shino would most likely be; most of the police personnel liked to warm up before a shift. Sure enough, Shino had half finished changing into his uniform after a light training session at the gym. He turned when he heard the door open, and the brief and slight raising of the right corner of his mouth was practically as close to a smile as Naruto had ever seen. It was not that Shino was mean or cold; just very reserved.

Naruto leaned up against a locker, arms crossed against his chest and smiled saying, "Hey Shino! How's life? Heard that we're on a parolee run today." Shino just nodded in agreement; he had never been one to waste words. There was a brief awkward silence before Naruto said, "So why don't we head off? We can take my car today instead of one of the squad cars. Uh, I'll go bring it round…meet me when you finish here?" Another nod. With that Naruto exited the change room and headed to his car, thinking that Shino was giving off some weird vibes today.

Five minutes later, the passenger door of Naruto's light blue station wagon clicked open and Shino slid onto the front passenger seat without speaking. As soon as Shino was buckled in, Naruto entered the address of the first name on the list into his GPS, and they headed off to the first of several parolees that were due to be checked-in on. The silence in the car was palpable, and growing more uncomfortable by the minute.

After leaving the rundown flat of the fourth parolee, Naruto suddenly pulled over to the curb. He glanced at Shino and back out the window before clearing his throat and saying, "Shino…dude, what's wrong? I mean, I know you are usually quiet, but this is kind of getting ridiculous. Have I done something to irritate you…?"

Shino remained silent for a few seconds before he replied, "I'm not irritated. It's more…that I have something to talk to you about."

Naruto looked across at him, raising an eyebrow. Scratching his head, he said, "Well, you know me, I much prefer to be straightforward," he grinned. "You'll have noticed subtlety is not my strongest point? So yeah…what's up?"

"Chouji mentioned yesterday that you've taken in Sasuke," Shino said. "But I feel as if I should be doing something more to help. You know, I was the one covering the original Uchiha car accident case…and I was the one who signed the document saying Itachi was fit to be guardian to his younger brother. And look what happened – he killed himself. I was wrong and now he's dead. I started this case, and now you're the one cleaning up the mess. I really think I should be doing something to take responsibility."

"Shino," Naruto began, choosing his words carefully. "It's not your fault; it's not your mess. I'm not just saying that, man. I looked over the file this morning – you followed proper channels, and everything checked out. Your report even states that you asked Itachi if he was up to becoming Sasuke's guardian. You did as much as could be done. You can never predict how an individual will react to being put into a hard situation, and so you can't take on the burden of the results. I mean, sure, if you held a gun to Itachi's head and said 'You must be guardian to your brother regardless of your feelings on the matter' then you'd have something to answer for. But you didn't. He made his bed and then found it wasn't comfortable enough for him*."

Shino looked over at him from behind his dark glasses. "Do you really think so? Surely there was some sign I missed; something. That makes it my fault that that young man is sitting back at HQ with no family left." Naruto started when he realised the 'young man' Shino had referred to was Sasuke. The last few days, watching Sasuke grieve, he had been thinking of him as a vulnerable boy rather than the young man he was becoming. Hmm, that was definitely something worth thinking about.

Thoughts coming back to the discussion, Naruto took a deep breath. "Shino. Look, you can't beat yourself up. From what I can see Itachi had thought it would be fine and hadn't taken into consideration the changes he would need to make to his lifestyle to take care of a teenager. Any officer – myself included – would have come to the conclusion that Itachi was an appropriate guardian. Also, the fact that you are this concerned and guilt-ridden just proves that you were honestly working with the boys best-interests at heart. Hell, you still remember both brothers by first name and it's been 6 months since the accident happened." Naruto stared intently at Shino, trying to see whether his words were hitting home.

Shino glanced down before sighing and meeting Naruto's eye. "Yeah…I know you're right, but I just couldn't help playing the 'what if' game – what if I had noticed something, what if I had found someone else to be guardian," there was a pause as Shino hesitated before he asked a question. "Is it true that you are basically his guardian now?"

"Yeah, pretty much. He turns eighteen in like, a month and a half though. After that…well, we'll see, I guess. He's welcome to stay on with me, but he'll be an adult and he can legally do as he pleases."

Shino began to dig around in his briefcase. "Look…I, um, I was thinking about this before…and the only way I can think of to help Sasuke is to give you this," he said, handing over a thick folder of documents. "When I was researching into Itachi and Sasuke after their parents died, this is the folder of stuff that I collected from Child Services on Sasuke that was not worth putting into the report. It's just stuff like his academic history and you know, the stuff teachers had to say about his attitude, intelligence and mental stability, at least as he appeared at school. I figured it might help you, you know, with working out how to make sure he gets through this okay."

Naruto swallowed the lump rising in his throat as he took the file. "Thanks Shino. You're a really good guy. This'll definitely be helpful." Shino just nodded in reply. And just like that the conversation was over. They both returned to silence as Naruto started the car, but this time the silence was companionable as they drove off to finish checking out parolees.

Meanwhile, back at HQ, Chouji and Shikamaru were doing as Naruto requested and trying their best to keep an eye out for Sasuke, whom they could see from the CPC sitting quietly in the tearoom apparently reading a chemistry textbook. Shikamaru sighed and spun his computer chair to face Chouji, who currently occupied one of the chairs the rookies had brought in while practicing directing emergency calls and police units.

"So, how do you think he's doing? Looks like he's avoiding things by hiding behind school work to me," said Shikamaru. "Do you think he needs to talk?"

"Yeah, he probably does but I don't think he's ready to open up. I doubt he would to us, anyway. If anyone it will probably be Naru, since that's who is caring for him. You wanna come with me and stay with him for a bit?"

Shikamaru stood and walked over to ruffle Chouji's soft, brown hair. "Nah, I'll let you go talk first. I'll join you in five when the CPC replacement comes." He smiled, before stretching and plonking himself back into his computer chair.

Sasuke heard the sound of the tearoom door sliding open and looked up from the chemistry book he'd been staring at for the past half hour. He sat up straighter in his seat when he recognised the guy who had come in to talk to him about his housing options in the early hours of Sunday morning following his brother's death.

"Hey Sasuke," said Chouji, glancing at the textbook and munching a donut on his way to the vending machine. "I see you're studying chemistry this year? Never liked that subject, myself. Ah, I'm Chouji, by the way."

"Mm, yeah…I remember you came into talk to me the other day…about where I could stay."

"Ah, I wasn't sure you would remember, considering the circumstances. You want a bottle of something from here?" He was pointing at the vending machine, and already holding a bottle of Peach Fizz in the other. "It's free…"

"Oh, okay…um, I'll have whatever you're having," replied Sasuke, somewhat surprised that Chouji was talking to him. Weren't they supposed to pretend he was invisible, and not let him distract them from working? Chouji swallowed the last bite of donut, before placing a Peach Fizz in front of Sasuke and sitting down heavily in a seat opposite him. Sasuke covertly studied him. He was quite tall, with shortish brown hair. He had a soft, round face and kind eyes. The rest of him was not exactly fat but…solid. He was large, but it was mostly muscle bulk, not flab. Solid was how his mother would have described this guy. He smiled thinking about how his Mom had hated to offend anyone, and then felt a wave of sadness when he thought about the fact that she would never be here to reprimand him for being judgemental again. After a while Sasuke broke the silence. "Are you on break?"

"Yeah, today's turning out to be a quiet one, so other than a bunch of paper work to catch up on—and to be honest, it will probably go home with me tonight—there's not much to do, so morning tea time for me." Chouji bit into a second donut he had pulled from…hum…Sasuke frowned a little, since he saw nowhere that a donut could be stashed. "So, how are you going with the study?"

"Erm," said Sasuke, squirming in his seat. "I guess ok? Well…really I haven't done much today. Usually I am much more focused than this, but I just can't seem to get my mind on target today. If this continues, I'm probably going to screw up my exams."

"Ah, don't worry about it too much. Schools tend to be understanding in hard circumstances, especially if you have people to speak on your behalf – which Naru and the rest of us will do, should that be necessary. Besides, you seem to be pretty smart so they'll probably jump at the chance to help you out," Chouji smiled reassuringly and popped the last of his donut into his mouth. He began through his mouthful of donut, "Just don-"

Shikamaru interrupted, "Hey, if they helped out someone like Naruto, there's no way they wouldn't help you when you're so intelligent. And you actually seem to try, too. You're a schools dream student." Shikamaru flopped onto the only small sofa in the room. "Which is the complete opposite of Naruto. Which is why we are certain they will help you after they helped that loud, troublesome idiot." Chouji frowned.

"Oi, Shika, don't you think you're being a bit hard on Naru? And you're _supposed_ to be his friend."

Shika didn't respond for a moment, just smiled. "An idiot is still an idiot, regardless of whether he's a friend or not. Just remember _you_ used to complain too since he was so disruptive." Chouji glared at Shikamaru, clearly intending to retort but before he could, Sasuke interrupted.

"Naruto got special consideration from his school? How do you know that?" Sasuke asked, clearly not sure if they remembered he was in the room. Chouji and Shikamaru looked at each other, considering the questions.

"Well, yeah, he got special consideration…and as to how we know that, we three went to school together," Chouji replied. "We've known him for how long, Shika? We met when we were twelve or so and now we're each twenty-two or twenty-three. So a good eleven years or so?" Sasuke stared, wide eyed, as Chouji bit into a fruit tart. Where the hell had that come from? And how could one guy be eating so much?

"So you've not only known him for ages, but you all ended up working together too?" he asked.

Shikamaru snorted. "It was no co-incidence. Chouji here didn't know what he wanted to be when we finished school, but Naruto was set on joining the police force and suggested we come along for the ride. We ended up motivating each other since we all had something holding us ba-"

"Hey, I don't remember anything holding me back," Chouji interjected. Shikamaru rolled his eyes before responding.

"Don't play dumb. Naruto was too stupid, you're a fatty and I'm the laziest person that you guys know."

"That's it, you're not allowed in the house tonight. You can just find someone else's bed to sleep in," Chouji said crossly. "You_ know_ I hate being called that – I have _big bones_. And Naruto's going to get pissed off if he hears you've been calling him names."

"Oi…don't blame me for my honesty. He was disruptive and mucked around a lot, playing dumb jokes and being a clown. Plus, have I ever complained about the way you look? I think that you being 'big-boned' suits you," Shikamaru smiled. Chouji's frown softened. Sasuke was…well, frankly a little weirded out by having to listen to the conversation – it felt like they were getting personal even though everything they said was innocent. He coughed slightly to remind them of his presence.

"What do you mean Naruto was too stupid?" he asked. Chouji gave a laugh.

"Don't listen to Shika, Naru isn't stupid. It's more…he's the hands on type; he'd prefer to be in the field rather than doing paper work. The paper test to enter the police academy was almost Naru's downfall since it was hard to make him study. So we all ended up here together since Naru insisted on getting me fit enough to pass the physical side and Shika was dragged along coz he was too lazy to think of something else to do." Chouji then added in a whisper to Sasuke, "Actually Shika is a genius – smart enough to be an engineer or doctor…but he's just too lazy."

Shika sat up and stared at Chouji with an exaggerated pout. "Oi, oi. Why do you keep defending Naruto and not me?"

"'Cause Naru had reasons for being the way he was. He had a tough life, so he couldn't help acting out back then. Plus he grew up and is much more mature now…well, except for when he drinks…and you haven't changed at all, lazy bum. So there," Chouji said triumphantly, before realising all too late what he had said in front of Sasuke. "Ah…"

"…Naruto's had a tough life?" asked Sasuke curiously.

"Um, well he was…you see…" started Chouji, before Shikamaru interrupted.

"Look, when we met Naruto eleven years ago, he had just been adopted by the people whom he now thinks of as his parents. He had a pretty screwed up childhood. I know you're probably even more curious now, but if you have any more questions you should probably ask Naruto, since it's not our place to tell, really. Now Chouji, if you done stuffing your mouth with both your food and feet, it's time to get back to work. We'll see you later Sasuke." With that, Shikamaru stretched and left the tea room.

Chouji got up, dusting crumbs from his shirt. "Ah, I'd appreciate it if you didn't mention to Naru that I let that slip. But like Shika said, just ask him if you wanna know these things – he'll probably tell you. Anyway…good luck with the chemistry work. I'll see ya later maybe." He gave a little smile and wave as he shut the tearoom door behind him, leaving Sasuke with a lot to ponder.

*To make your bed and lie on it – a saying referring to putting up with the consequences of your own actions.

* * *

A/N: Hey guys, let me know what you thought of this chapter if you have time =] Actually found it really hard to write this one, since if felt like some of the characters were a little OOC. Especially Shino xD

I was trying to get across the fact that Shino had a strong sense of responsibility towards not only the police force the public whom he feels he has a duty to serve.

This chapter _was_ going to be longer, but I decided that this is plenty for now, and I will move some parts forward so the stories not all squashed. Plus Naru and Sasu are starting to get to know each other more which should lead to bigger and better things…between…them xD

Until next time!

~dusk.


	5. Chapter 5

Warning: NaruSasu pairing, AU/AH, slash, yaoi, romance, mature, hurt/comfort

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the characters; they belong to the brilliant Kishimoto.

* * *

Chapter Five

_Sunday, June 19_

It was Sunday afternoon, and it had been around two weeks now since Sasuke had begun his stay with Naruto. Sasuke was quickly finding that the 'working Naruto' and the 'relaxing Naruto' were quite different people. His discussion with Chouji and Shikamaru had given him some food for thought – though, only when he wasn't busy doing school work, or organising things relating to the death of his brother. He had ended up taking a full two weeks off from school instead of just one. He had underestimated how much there would be to do, even with the help of Naruto.

His brothers autopsy had shown what they expected – it was a clear cut suicide. After he was shown the note left by his brother, family friends and many of the police personnel seemed shocked that his reaction wasn't worse. It frustrated Sasuke no end. The thing none of them seemed to realise was that Itachi had always been very…self involved.

Of course he had loved and cared about his brother, but Itachi had shown little to no interest in Sasuke, even after the death of their parents. Sasuke didn't hold a grudge over it, in fact after living his whole life with Itachi he had come to expect it. Sure, he'd been desperate to be a part of his brother's life when he was a little boy, but he had quickly grown out of that.

Sasuke sighed, staring at his textbook. Last Tuesday had been his brother's funeral. It had been a quiet affair, with very few people turning up. Itachi's friend Kisame, who was one of the few people Sasuke knew, had assured him that Itachi had other friends, it was just that they would be mourning his death in other less conventional ways.

After that, Naruto had helped him start sorting out his family finances – there wasn't much to do, since they had recently been organised after his parents' passing. The biggest thing had been putting the house on the market and boxing all of his family's belongings. Thankfully, Naruto had organised a year-long lease on a storage unit so that Sasuke could do the actual sorting when he was ready. For now everything, except for Sasuke's belongings, was sent to the storage unit.

Tomorrow was the day he was heading back to school, and he was not looking forward to it in the least. He had very few close friends, but many admirers. They would have questions, and even if he went to the teachers there would be no respite as _they_ would also have questions.

The only real bright spot out of everything that had happened was staying with Naruto. It seemed that Naruto had a real way with people. There were constantly people dropping by his house and hanging around (which really did explain the draws full of underwear in his spare room.)

He and Naruto had relaxed into an friendly companionship; Sasuke had seen recently that there was rarely a time where Naruto wasn't smiling or joking and, in turn, that made him more relaxed. Any television that was watched tended to be comedies or crime procedurals, and there were DVDs practically bursting out of the cabinet in the lounge room.

Sasuke found that he had fallen into a reassuring routine with the easy-going blonde. It comforting to know that every morning at five forty-five the muffled thumps that woke him were Naruto getting ready for go for his morning jog, and that he'd be back cheerful and sweaty to wake Sasuke at seven to begin the day.

Though he was curious about Naruto's past, he hadn't yet worked up the courage to actually talk about it. When he was sure that Naruto was at work, he had examined every corner of the house looking for clues. He found that there were tonnes of pictures attached to every wall, all of Naruto – Naruto with friends, Naruto in high school with his teachers, Naruto at graduation, Naruto with his police friends and finally, Naruto with a white haired older man and a younger looking blonde woman. Sasuke assumed that these must be his parents.

Finally giving up on trying to study – he was just not in the mood – Sasuke wandered downstairs. Over the last couple of weeks, he had realised that Naruto survived mostly on instant food. Sasuke had decided the least he could do to contribute would be to cook meals for the two of them, and so every Sunday he cooked two meals to put in the freezer for later in the week and one meal for that night.

* * *

Naruto was just finishing up his shift. He was still at HQ, though he had finished all his police work about half an hour earlier. He was currently reading through the file given to him by Shino. He was quite surprised at what he had found. According to all of Sasuke's teachers, he had a level of intelligence that was close to genius; he was a model student, always handing work in on time, never tardy or absent without due cause.

The only thing that they all complained of was Sasuke's reserved, almost anti-social, personality. While never labelled rude, the words "cold", "indifferent" and "condescending" popped up everywhere, which seemed strange to Naruto. Living with Sasuke, of course he had noticed Sasuke's tendency to be reserved, but he had also seen the small, thoughtful things that he did. Sasuke cooked at least three meals a week, brought in the mail and newspaper and left them on the dining table where Naruto could get them, washed any dishes that had been left in the sink…pretty much any small job left undone, Sasuke would do. He was really anything but cold, indifferent and condescending.

Flipping through the reports in the file, he found near the bottom a copy of the school councillors evaluation of Sasuke following his parents deaths.

_**This report contains an evaluation of Sasuke Uchiha with the aim of determining whether or not it is appropriate for him to return to school this soon following the deaths of his parents, and whether his schedule should be modified. Separate evaluations should be conducted regarding other mental health concerns; this report is not to be used for any other purpose.**_

_Sasuke Uchiha, aged 17, is very mature for his age, with a very high intelligence. His general indifference towards both his teachers and peers is not an attempt to antagonise, but in my opinion, relates to his boredom at being set tasks bellow his level. I highly doubt that this is cause for worry, especially as he continues to complete work without trouble._

_His motivation to study is strong, and he has a clear idea of the path he wants to follow. In our interview he has revealed the intention to earn a double degree – a Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences and Bachelor of Laws. My recommendation in this area would be to place him in the accelerated learning group and allow him to take up a university subject._

_His interactions with peers his own age are strained to say the least; most likely due to his introverted nature. This seems to be caused by the overwhelming numbers of admirers he has, as opposed to 'real friends'. Although more interaction with his peers would be preferable, his relationship with them is not unhealthy – while not overly friendly, it is not hostile either._

_The interview conducted with Sasuke indicated that he is suppressing his grief, but gradually coping with it. I believe that his brother is providing very little emotional support or is not coping well with it himself as Sasuke is very sensitive when asked about Itachi._

_Based on this evaluation my recommendation would be to allow Sasuke to keep attending school, as it is an outlet where he can escape his grief. I also believe that trying to put him in touch with someone other than Itachi to provide some stability and emotional support will be useful._

Naruto read through it a second time. Sasuke seemed to be a very mature young man. He wondered whether perhaps Sasuke was lonely, since he seemed to have no really close friends. Back when he was in high school, he had had Shika and Chouji. A wry smile crossed his face as he thought of the trouble he'd gotten them all into every now and again. But that seemed long ago now; he'd grown up a lot in the last couple of years.

Naruto stood and stretched, yawning. Heading home now sounded good. It was Sunday, which meant Sasuke had probably cooked dinner already. It was good to have someone at home waiting for him…it had been a long time since he'd lived with someone. Not only was it heartening to have someone else in the house, but Sasuke's personality just seemed to click with his own. Thinking about it, he was loud, talkative and unable to cook to save himself, Sasuke was an attentive listener who excelled at cooking. It was comfortable, and Naruto was beginning more and more to look forward to the time he got to spend with Sasuke.

* * *

A/N: Hey everyone! Hope you are all doing well =)

Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up _ I had planned for it to be earlier than this, but…life happened, and I just didn't have time to finish writing and proofing it before now.

Sooo, as this chapter ends, we are finally getting to Naru and Sasu business. Next chapter will be all about them ^_^ No guarantees on when it will be up (my life is just too unpredictable at the moment), but hopefully soon.

Please review – I enjoy feedback.

~dusk ^_^


	6. Chapter 6

After the death of his parents in a car accident and his older brother's suicide, Sasuke is left alone in the world. Naruto is a kind-hearted cop who takes him in. Sasuke wants to find more than a house, he wants a home. Will he find it?

Warning: **Lime**, NaruSasu pairing, AU/AH, slash, yaoi, romance, mature, hurt/comfort

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the characters; they belong to the brilliant Kishimoto.

* * *

Chapter Six

Sasuke climbed the stairs of the bus, already scanning the rows for an empty seat. This was one of the reasons he chose to study until five o'clock on evenings when Naruto was working. First of all, going back home (he was training himself not to think of it as "Naruto's place" since he would be living there for the foreseeable future) and hanging out alone tended to be unproductive. Secondly, it was much easier to find empty seats on the afternoon bus, since there were very few students staying back this late.

He settled himself into a seat near the front and turned on his mp3 player, pushing the headphones over his ears, hoping to discourage people from attempting to make conversation with him. He had been back at school for three weeks, and had quickly learned that the twenty-odd minute bus ride from his school to Naruto's place was more practical than walking while lugging his numerous school books. The only downside to catching the bus was that there were always people there, and a majority of them he knew.

The ride passed quickly, and he was soon standing at the stop that was a two minute walk away from Naruto's…from home. As he walked up the road, he was surprised to notice the blue station wagon already parked in the driveway. Naruto normally worked on a Friday from 1am until 11.30pm. Sasuke walked through the fading evening light to the front door and let himself in.

As he made his way to the kitchen, he heard the sounds of the shower running above in Naruto's en suite. Dropping his bag near the stairs, he shucked his coat, hanging it neatly behind the door before putting the kettle on to boil and getting out a mug. He hesitated a moment before grabbing a second mug. Naruto would want some too…maybe.

He decided to take his bag upstairs while the kettle was boiling. He heard the shower upstairs stop and Naruto moving around. As he moved down the hall towards his room, he noticed that Naruto's door was open. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Naruto walk across the room in nothing but a small, fluffy white towel slung low across his hips. His blonde hair was damp, and there were still droplets of water clinging to his broad, tanned shoulders and back as he opened his dresser to rummage for clothes.

Sasuke went to take a step back, to go downstairs so he wouldn't intrude on Naruto, but just as he took a step, one of his books made a loud, conspicuous scratching sound as it shifted against the fabric inside his bag. Naruto looked up at the sound and turned to see a pink cheeked Sasuke outside his door. He grinned at Sasuke and said, "Heya, Sasuke. How was school? I got sent home early today…new guy at work mixed up the rostering and there were too many of us there, so they sent me back since I have no cases I'm actively working on. That, and Shizu-chan – I mean, Chief Shizune – says I get annoyingly loud when I'm bored."

"Er," Sasuke began, freezing up a bit. Even though he'd been living here for a while this was the first time he had seen Naruto shirtless. His tanned, firm body was lean and lightly muscled, with a broad chest – Sasuke blushed more when he thought about the fact that he had _cried_ against that chest – and long, graceful limbs. Realising that he still hadn't answered, Sasuke managed to mumble out, "Uh, school was okay…I studied for a while before I caught the bus…I'm just going to put my books away…and…yeah. I'm going to go change." With that, he abruptly turned away from Naruto and marched across to his room, closing the door firmly behind him.

Sasuke covered his flaming face with his hands. God, that was embarrassing. His heart was pounding an imprint into the back of his ribcage. He was reacting as if he'd never seen another guy without clothes on. He'd thought about it before, of course – the fact that he didn't hold any romantic interest in women. But more to the point, this was the first time he'd really felt an inherent attraction to another guy like that.

He had, in fact, started to believe maybe he just wasn't interested in any other person, male or female. He had always reasoned before that it was because no one was as attractive as himself, so why should he be attracted to them when he had a mirror. He justified this attitude under the scientific and sociological paradigm that within the human race, most people are attracted to and attempt to create relationships with people they view as being aesthetic equals.

As his heart rate slowed, he contemplated this new development. His face flushed once more as he came to the conclusion that the only logical answer to this was that he liked Naruto – as more than a friend. The more he thought about it the more he felt it to be the truth. Not only was Naruto good-looking, he had been kind to Sasuke in a way no one else had. He made Sasuke feel wanted and cared for. Sasuke bit his lip, a crease forming between his eyebrows. Naruto had never brought a girlfriend home before…for such an attractive guy to be single; would that mean maybe he was in with a chance?

Downstairs, Naruto spotted the freshly boiled kettle and mugs set out, and expertly made two cups of coffee – with real coffee grounds. He may not have learned to cook, but caffeine was his addiction of choice, so he made an effort to know how to do it well. His lip twitched as he fought off a smile as he replayed the look on Sasuke's face when he turned around. It had been priceless, but more importantly it made Naruto think that this relationship had the potential to surpass that of house mates; though how he would go about initiating a relationship, he wasn't sure.

When Sasuke came down, he was quieter than usual. He remained with his back to Naruto and concentrated on the curry he was reheating for dinner. He started as he felt the warmth of Naruto at his back, looking over his shoulder at the food. His heart started to race and he silently reprimanded himself. Naruto had done this a thousand times, and he'd never had his heart jump like this. He was hyper aware of every little move. He felt Naruto's breath gently caress his ear as Naruto inhaled and exhaled the scent of the curry.

Naruto wandered back to the dining table to lounge on a kitchen chair, sipping his coffee as he watched Sasuke at the stove. His jet black hair against the pale nape of his neck was almost hypnotic. Sasuke's body had the beginnings of a lean athlete (though Naruto wagered that his analysis was biased by the report in which his sports instructor had labelled Sasuke as a natural track and field sportsman). His shoulders weren't yet as broad as they would become, and he still had a little of that youthful lankiness about him that screamed "I'm still filling out". As his gaze shifted down, he caught himself thinking that Sasuke's cute little butt didn't need any more filling out…

"…ruto…_Naruto?_" Sasuke's voice broke through his thoughts. Crap, he thought, if Sasuke was staring at him, does that mean he caught me staring at his butt?

"Yeah, Sasuke? Sorry, I was lost in a world of my own," he smiled sheepishly, hoping Sasuke wouldn't push for more of an explanation.

"I was just wondering what your plans are for tonight? Are you maybe taking a night off to go, you know, to go…is there someon—" he started awkwardly.

"Am I making a booty call?" Naruto replied with raised eyebrows.

Sasuke blushed again – damn, again? This was becoming too regular – and said angrily, "I didn't _mean_ that. I just meant do you have a girlfriend…or something. One that you want to visit?" He made a face that aimed for nonchalance and it fell short in a stubborn (and somehow cute) kind of pout. "Not that it matters. I was just wondering is all..."

Naruto bit the inside of his cheek trying not to laugh outright. He guessed correctly that Sasuke was attempting to scope him out and see where his interests lay. Since Naruto was neither good at nor inclined to try and deceive people, he just went for the truth. Grinning across the table, he said to Sasuke, "No, Sasuke, I don't plan to go out anywhere tonight. I'm not currently in a relationship at the moment and if I was," he paused for emphasis. "It wouldn't be with a _girl_."

Sasuke's eyebrows twitched upwards. "Oh…so you're…so you like…okay. Er, dinner will be ready in a minute…" As he went to turn back towards the stove, he caught the look on Naruto's face. He frowned suspiciously, "Are you laughing at me inside your head?"

Naruto chuckled aloud then. "Even if I was it wouldn't matter, since it's inside my head. You can't frown at me for thoughts I haven't voiced yet, Mr. Serious Face."

"…Hn."

* * *

It was now about 10pm, and both Naruto and Sasuke had shifted into the lounge room to watch DVDs. Since Naruto wasn't fussy, he decided to leave it up to Sasuke to pick what they watched. When he sat down and realised that _Speed_ was playing, he glanced at Sasuke in surprised. In the whole time he had been here, every time he had let the youth choose, the movies came from one of three genres: horror, psychological thriller or mystery (or any combination thereof). He gave a mental shrug and flopped onto the couch. Whatever. Apparently even Sasuke got sick of having to think about the plot.

Sasuke set the DVD player, flicked off the lights and moved over to the old orange two seater couch that Naruto was relaxing in. Sitting beside him knees to chest, he peered at Naruto from the corner of his eye in the dim glow of the lights of the television. Since he was now sure that Naruto was into guys, he was going to take action – he'd never been one to wait around for others.

The movie continued on with neither guy paying much attention to it. Naruto was incredibly distracted when he felt a soft bump on his shoulder and glanced down to find that Sasuke had, for the first time ever, nodded off in movie. Though it had made his heart pound a little louder, he was content to sit that way and continue 'watching'.

That is, he was content until he noticed that as Sasuke apparently fell into a deeper sleep, he continued to slide downwards; his head now rested on Naruto's stomach and was headed for his lap. Sasuke finally ended up lying horizontally on the couch, cheek down on Naruto's lap. Naruto felt his cheeks heating up as he realised how close Sasuke was to his crotch…those pale lips…NO! He tried to focus on the movie, figuring he could at least make it to the end of the movie like this without embarrassing himself.

Sasuke could feel the warmth of Naruto's skin through the soft material of his sweat pants. He remained still enough to feign sleep by sheer force of will. This was all part of his plan. He suppressed a small smirk as he felt Naruto's thigh quiver – his muscles had been tense since the moment Sasuke had let himself 'doze off' against Naruto.

Pretending like Naruto's leg was a pillow he started to move his face up and down along his leg, as if trying to find a comfy position. When he heard Naruto inhale sharply he stopped moving. He almost chuckled as he heard Naruto try to calm his breathing. Suddenly, he felt a slight pressure beneath his cheek. Aha! This is what he had been waiting for. He again rubbed his face against Naruto's lap, just to be sure before slowly sitting up as if just awakened.

"Oh, Naruto…did I fall asleep? I swear I just dreamed that there was something making my pillow all lumpy." He watched as a red blush stained Naruto's cheeks. He looked down at Naruto's lap and then back up. "Ohhh…I see. So that's what it was." He grinned at Naruto, moving closer. "Do you like me that much?"

Naruto was shocked as all hell. First off, although he had realised there was a chance Sasuke liked him, this was totally unexpected. Second of all…wasn't he the one that was supposed to seduce Sasuke in three weeks, after his eighteenth birthday? This was definitely not written into the original plan.

Sasuke looked up at Naruto's face and his triumphant expression was replaced immediately by surprise. Naruto was smiling at him like the cat that got the canary. "You know what Sasuke? You just made this a whole lot easier. I had planned to eventually seduce you, but you've come to me first. It's 'cause I'm irresistible, right?" He grinned, wondering if this bolder, cockier Sasuke he was meeting tonight was how Sasuke had been before the death of his family.

Naruto's hand darted out in a flash, snagging Sasuke's shirt and giving a sharp tug. Caught by surprise, Sasuke suddenly found himself dragged onto Naruto's lap, fingers curled tightly into Naruto's t-shirt in order to maintain his balance. His heart pounded and his breathing became slightly shallower as he looked up at Naruto. There was another beat of silence before Naruto teasingly said, "What's this? All your bravado used up?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed before pulling Naruto's head towards his own and planting a light kiss on soft lips. He pulled back, feeling his face heat up. "I know I'm not great at this. I-I don't have much experience," he said, voice barely louder than a whisper.

Naruto chuckled before replying in a husky voice, "That just means that there are things for me to teach you…I think we'll be enjoying some firsts together. Don't you?" Sasuke glowered in response, now feeling completely in over his head. Naruto just found this adorable, saying softly, "Let me teach you?" before cupping Sasuke's face in his hands.

Lowering his mouth to Sasuke's, he used the velvety tip of his tongue to trace a wet line across Sasuke's lower lip before capturing his lips is a slow, lingering kiss. He felt Sasuke's lips part beneath his own, and engaged Sasuke's tongue in a dance of melting warmth. They broke apart, Sasuke breathing heavily, hands clenching and unclenching on Naruto's shirt.

Sasuke shifted so that he was straddling Naruto's legs, facing towards him and this time the kiss was faster, more passionate and intense. Naruto's warm, large hands slid lightly down Sasuke's sides to the hem of his shirt. Sasuke moaned into Naruto's mouth as he felt those hands finally slide beneath the shirt to caress and tease his nipples. He felt Naruto's lips against his neck, and arched against him with another low moan as Naruto began to suckle a love bite* onto the sensitive skin.

Sasuke reached his hands up to run them through Naruto's thick blonde hair, before letting go so that Naruto could pull off his shirt. Sasuke shivered slightly as the cold air of the room settled upon his pale, exposed skin. Naruto's lips slowly kissed a burning trail of kisses across his chest, before taking Sasuke's left nipple and rolling it lightly between his teeth. The abrupt changes between the rough edges of teeth and soft lips and tongue were enough of a contrast to leave Sasuke trembling, with barely audible whimpers escaping his mouth.

"Sasuke," Naruto rumbled in a deep bass tone. "You like this, hum?" He switched his focus to the other nipple, fingers lightly pinching and twisting the nipple not occupied by his mouth.

"Nnn…ah," was Sasuke's only response. His eyes were closed, his head thrown back and he didn't even know whether he knew how to speak anymore. And even if he didn't, he wasn't sure he cared. He felt Naruto's lips curve into a smile against his chest.

"I love the fact," he murmured. "That you are so sensitive and responsive to me. God, Sasuke, your moans are just _beyond_ sexy." He dropped into silence as Sasuke initiated a hot, rough kiss. As Sasuke bit at Naruto's lips, he growled in frustration at the feeling of his now aching erection straining against his pants. Almost unconsciously, Sasuke began to rub his hard-on against Naruto's leg. The pleasure it drew made him heave a shuddering sigh.

Sasuke had never felt like this before in his life. His skin ached to be touched and he felt so hot. His hand trailed down Naruto's shirt covered chest, reaching the band of his sweat pants. He moved his hand tentatively over the hard bulge beneath Naruto's pants, causing Naruto to jerk up against him and take a sharp, hissing breath. Naruto nudged his hand away and drew Sasuke into another kiss.

Successfully distracting Sasuke from his own hardness, Naruto slipped his hand down Sasuke's pants and wrapped his hand around Sasuke's erect cock. Running his thumb over the weeping slit he whispered in Sasuke's ear, "Ah, see how wet you got for me, Sasu. Your cock is leaking for me." He then began a slow and steady tempo of stroking, Sasuke's pre-cum acting as a natural lubricant.

Sasuke's moans were almost continuous now, his lower body writhing on Naruto's lap. His head had dropped forward to rest on Naruto's shoulder, and a word that chanted so low it could barely be heard was repeated. Naruto smiled when he realised that the youth was repeating, "Please please please please please please…" over and over under his breath. Speeding up his strokes, he felt Sasuke's body spasm against him as hot spurts of cum coated his hand.

Sasuke gasped ragged breaths held in Naruto's arms. After about ten minutes, the fuzziness began to wear off and Sasuke saw that Naruto had cleaned up his hand and Sasuke's cock using a hanky** pulled from his pocket. Suddenly, Sasuke noticed the tent in Naruto's pants. What the hell? Why hadn't he come too?

He pulled back once more and said in a flat tone, "You didn't come. Was I really that bad?" Turning his face away, Sasuke attempted to hide the hurt in his eyes. Naruto's eyes widened in shock.

"Oh my god, no! It's not that at all Sasuke, I promise you…geez, I'm barely containing myself at this second," he reached out a hand to stroke the raven black hair. "It's just…ahhh….I almost can't say it since it's embarrassing…" Naruto scrunched up his face, beginning to go red.

"Say it," demanded Sasuke.

"Ah, well, you see," he hesitated. "I have to wait until your eighteen. In fact, even what we did just now then broke a few promises…"

"Huh?" It was Sasuke's turn to do some eyebrow raising.

"Well, Shika, Chouji and Shizu all know...well, basically, they all know that you are my type. And that I would like to hit on you. And, they kinda all made me promise…I wouldn't do anything with you until you were of age. But I figured just then since I didn't actually come **with** you that it wasn't breaking the rules, you know?" He anxiously went on, "So of course I want to do that and more with you…but I have to wait til you are of age, you know? So please, please don't be upset." He looked at Sasuke imploringly, awaiting a reaction.

He was taken aback when Sasuke then openly smirked at him. "So basically…you have to resist me for three more weeks? Hah! In that case, I am _definitely_ going to make you suffer." After climbing off of Naruto's lap, he leaned down to plant a firm kiss on those soft lips. Stepping back, Sasuke watched the blonde's jaw drop when he removed the rest of his clothes right there in the living room and began to walk nude to the staircase. "See what your missing out on?" With an arrogant grin and a wave he disappeared from view.

Naruto sighed, head in hands. Obviously the next three weeks were going to be hell for him.

* * *

_*a.k.a. a hickey_

_**short for handkerchief_

A/N: Hello all! Hope everyone is doing well ^_^

It took me a little while to get this chapter done – I procrastinated a lot since I was feeling de-motivated. Since it's done now though, I really quite like how it's turned out. I hope that I was able to bring in Sasu's natural cool attitude, while also showing some of his vulnerable side. And Naru, of course, was just kind of bumbling along =P

Sooo, what is your opinion of this chapter? Did I fulfil your expectations? Go too far? Want more/less? Please review or even pm if you have time, since I love to get feedback, so I can do more of what you like.

Hope you enjoyed it.

~dusk. xo


	7. Chapter 7

Description: After the death of his parents in a car accident and his older brother's suicide, Sasuke is left alone in the world. Naruto is a kind-hearted cop who takes him in. Sasuke wants to find more than a house, he wants a home. Will he find it?

Warning: NaruSasu pairing, AU/AH, slash, yaoi, romance, mature, hurt/comfort

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters; they belong to the brilliant Kishimoto.

* * *

Chapter Seven

As Naruto pulled into his driveway, he eyed the two cars parked on his curb. Guests on a Thursday night…that was unusual. Though a fair few friends knew he had Friday off, he thought grinning. Grabbing his briefcase from the front passenger seat, he jogged to the front door and let himself, immediately hearing his guests voices in the kitchen. Walking in, he noticed straight away that Sasuke was playing host and making tea. Shikamaru was, as usual, lounging on a chair with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes shut. Chouji sat opposite him talking animatedly to Sakura and Hinata.

Sakura and Hinata had both been friends with him since high school. Sakura had been his closest female friend for a long time. Of all of his friends, she had been the best at dedicating herself to a goal and achieving it. Currently enrolled in med school with the aim of becoming a surgeon, she was three years away from receiving her doctorate. Sakura had also been the first he opened up to when he came out, and he never regretted it since she took it all in stride and didn't let it affect the easy-going friendship they shared.

Hinata, on the other hand, had always been shy and quiet with severe confidence issues. He had originally met her through Sakura and thought her to be somewhat odd. Once he got to know her, though, he found her such a sweet girl that it was hard not to like her. After leaving school, she had taken a year off to travel overseas and live with extended family, which had done wonders for her. She was now working part-time with her father and cousin to learn the family business (some giant corporation he always forgot the name of). Though she had no desire to become CEO and take his place, she did enjoy working in the accounting department since she had a natural talent with numbers.

Of all of his friends, Hinata was the most settled. Visiting Chouji, Shika and himself at work, she had met Lee, who a couple of years older than them. After dating steadily for a couple of years, they had shocked their parents and friends alike when they announced their intentions to wed at the age of twenty-one. Naruto's eyes slid down to her rounded stomach. Eighteen months into her marriage and she was now five months pregnant with her first child.

"Hey guys," he said cheerfully, stepping into the room and giving the women hugs. "How is everyone? And how come you're all over here at 5pm on a Thursday?"

Sakura yawned before replying, "Well Shika and Chouji never work Thursday nights, my professor is ill and so I've been given time off until Sunday and Hina, well, she was just kind of bored and decided to tag along." She paused before grinning slyly over at Naruto. "Besides, it's been _ages_ since we boozed up and crashed over here…can you believe this is the first time I've met Sasuke? Were you trying to hide him from us?"

Naruto sputtered back, "Wha-? Hide him? No…I didn't…wait, we're boozing tonight?" Sasuke smirked behind the mug of coffee at his lips. Naruto was looking a little worried about the drinking part of tonight. He remembered Chouji saying something about his behaviour when drinking. _He grew up and is much more mature now…well, except for when he drinks._ This could definitely be fun. This last week had been great fun as almost everything he had been doing was meant to tempt and torture Naruto. He couldn't help smiling when he thought of yesterday night – Naruto had arrived home in the afternoon to find the classic male fantasy brought to life. Sasuke cooking…in nothing but an apron. The look on his face had been priceless and Sasuke had never seen anyone turn red so fast in his life!

Naruto looked around, dismayed. He had had a hard enough time keeping himself in control when he wasn't drinking…especially with the way Sasuke had been pushing him to the edges of his self-control. It had been a long week, and there was still one more long week until Sasuke's eighteenth birthday.

Every time they watched television together now, Sasuke would snuggle up as close as humanly possible, and the one – and only – time that Naruto had complained that his hands were cold, Sasuke had grabbed them and slid them under his shirt. "Warm them on me," was all he had said while Naruto almost passed out at the temptation presented to him.

Finally, Naruto came up with a flaw in their plan. "Ah! Wait…I don't have any booze here at the moment, so we can't do this tonight. Maybe like…a quiet night in with movies or something. That'd be fun right?"

Quick as a flash, Sakura shot back, "Nah, nah, it's _fine_. You think I would come over without bringing stuff with me?" Reaching into a large bag behind her, she pulled out a bottle of Vodka and Midori. "See? And there's more in the other bag over near Hina." She waited for his reply, obviously taking delight in his discomfort. Little did he know that Chouji and Shikamaru had filled her and Hinata in on the fact that there was a potential new man in his life. There was a bet running on whether he could control himself around said man once they got him drunk. Chouji and Hinata thought that he could, whereas Sakura and Shikamaru didn't have that much faith in his abilities.

"Ummm… Well, what about Sasuke? He's underage and I'm a cop, so he'd miss out on the fun, which would be unfair, right Sasuke?"

Sasuke just raised his eyebrows. After everything he'd done to try and tease Naruto this week, he was appealing to him, of all people, for help? Maybe he was as stupid as Shikamaru seemed to think. Stupid, but loveable, he amended.

"Aha! I have you covered there, too! Mocktails," she announced succinctly. "You wouldn't expect Hina to drink in her current state, right? So she and Sasuke can have mocktails. Though, I feel I should add you are an _off-duty_ cop, so don't be such a hard-ass about the teen drinking – God knows you did a lot of it when you were his age."

Naruto sighed. He was defeated on all accounts. "Fine, fine. Though, I still say no drinking for Sasuke, since he has school tomorrow. And Shizu will kill me," he paused, drifting into his own world for a moment. He suddenly straightened and continued, "Anyway, I'm going to head upstairs for a shower. Sasuke, the number for _Big Bob's Pizza's_ is in the drawer beneath the cutlery. Order a meat lovers for me, and whatever anyone else wants too. My shout." He then turned and disappeared upstairs.

Sasuke quickly began rummaging through the drawer, frowning. He had planned to follow Naruto upstairs, but his plan had been thwarted before he had had a chance to begin. He found the number, read it to himself and put it away. "So, what can I order for you guys?" Without realising it, he began to tap his fingers on the bench impatiently.

Sakura smiled at him and said, "One thing that's useful to try and remember, Sasuke, is that as a group we always order the same thing, so if you memorise tonight's pizza menu, you'll never have to wait to follow Naruto upstairs again." She chuckled as he blushed and scowled, caught out. "Don't worry about it, we are all on your team here. Wait, maybe not Shika and Chouji…as police officers they can't officially approve until your eighteen. But unofficially they approve too."

Chouji nodded in agreement. "It's been a long time since I've seen him this happy. He actually looks forward to coming home these days, whereas before you were here, for the last two years all he's done has been to work overtime. Very un-Naruto."

Hmm, that was interesting information. Sasuke added to the growing folder of Naruto related trivia. "Hn. What do you guys want me to order? I'll memorise it for next time."

"Well, I'll just give it to you all in one go, then. For me, I always get a half vegetarian, half seafood pizza with a cheese-filled crust. Shikamaru always gets a large Mediterranean, no extras. Chouji gets three large pizza's, one meat lovers with a thick base, one Hawaiian with a thin base and extra cheese and one capricciosa with a cheese-filled crust, extra mozzarella and pepperoni and no olives. Hina's order is usually for a medium pepperoni pizza, but since she got pregnant it's been one large cheese pizza with a double topping of anchovies and nothing else. Now if you want to write it down I can…" She trailed off as Sasuke walked impatiently to the phone and dialled the number.

"Hey. I'd like to place an order under the name of Naruto Uzumaki. Yep, that's the one. Two meat lovers – one normal and one with a thick base, one half vegetarian, half seafood pizza with a cheese-filled crust, one Mediterranean, one Hawaiian with a thin base and extra cheese and one capricciosa with a cheese-filled crust, extra mozzarella and pepperoni and no olives, one cheese pizza with a double topping of anchovies and lastly one BBQ chicken pizza. Large for all eight. Yep. Ahuh. Bye." Turning from the phone to look at the others he said, "What do you know? They have his phone number and home address on record already. What's wrong?"

All staring at him with eyes wide with disbelief, Hina was the first to speak. "Did you just memorise our orders after hearing them just once? Did Naru teach you before we came around or something?"

"Ah…No. It's just, you know, me. I have a trained eidetic memory. Or rather, I always had a naturally good memory, close to photographic, and my tutors showed me ways to improve my recall…" He coughed, embarrassed at their stares. "I'm going to go have a shower too…need to change out of my school uniform, and all."

* * *

Once upstairs, Sasuke headed for his room. When he didn't hear Naruto's shower running like it normally would be after being upstairs for this long he paused at the door only to hear him talking on the phone.

"No…No! I don't want to. Look, he may want it, but that's irrelevant at this point. God no! Don't you…No, I have my own life now. He's never been interested before…no. That's it, I'm hang- No! Shut the hell up!" There was a loud clattering noise, and Sasuke jumped. He heard a deep sigh from within, and a soft thump as Naruto fell back onto his bed.

"Come on in Sasuke. I can hear you breathing out there…well, not really. But I heard you coming up the stairs a minute ago, but your bedroom door never opened."

Oops. Now he was caught out again. He wandered into the bedroom and sat down on the opposite side of the bed to where Naruto was sitting without saying anything. They sat like that for a couple of minutes before Sasuke took a breath and broke the silence. "Are…are you okay?" It was the first time he'd ever heard Naruto lose his cool over anything.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he smiled, looking over his shoulder at Sasuke. "As the guardian here, I should be worrying about you, not the other way around."

"And as your potential future partner, you should let me worry about you so that we start on an equal footing," Sasuke replied determinedly. He saw Naruto's eyebrows go up at 'future partner'. "Look, I know you think I'm young and all…but teasing aside, I do want to make a proper go of it with you after my birthday. So…are you really okay?"

Naruto heaved another sigh, facing away from him and said hesitatingly, "I really don't know. But for tonight, with guests, I have to be. I know you want to be there for me and I want to make whatever's between us work too, but I don't think there's time now to talk about it. How about we take a raincheck on this discussion? It's a bit of a risk to try it now."

Sasuke crawled across the bed to where Naruto sat and wrapped his arms around his shoulders, pressing his chest against Naruto's back and dropping his head down to rest on Naruto's shoulder. "You know, you aren't the only one taking risks and feeling scared. Reassure me. I can wait for the talk…but reassure me." He felt Naruto turn towards him and pull him into a hug.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke. Sometimes I forget that you're still so young. I shouldn't make you feel this insecure. I'll sort this out and we can talk about it tomorrow. But on the subject of you and I, you have nothing to worry about," he pressed a gentle, chaste kiss to Sasuke's lips. "I want this, and we will make it work. Twenty-third of July. Once we reach your birthday, there will be no more objections from my side and hopefully, a lot less teasing from yours." He chuckled then released Sasuke. "You go shower first, then I'll go when I hear your shower turn off – I don't want to compete for hot water."

Sasuke nodded and headed back to his room. He felt a little guilty playing the emotional neediness card, but he felt that maintaining Naruto's interest in him until his birthday was important. As someone who was fairly socially awkward with peers his own age, he wanted to make sure that he did everything he could to keep this one person by his side. It was a little manipulative, but it was working.

In the other room, while listening to the water run in Sasuke's shower, Naruto rubbed his face with his hands. Damn it, why did Sasuke have to be so cute? That kiss had really been excruciating for him, with Sasuke so close that every inhaled breath carried his scent. Just one more week, he told himself. Just one more week, he told his tented pants. He finally heard Sasuke's shower turn off, and made tracks to his own.

Meanwhile, Sasuke got out of the shower, dried and changed, remembering the pizzas. He should have asked Naruto about money for the pizzas while he was in there. After towelling his hair dry, he headed back across the corridor to Naruto's room. It wasn't til he was already in Naruto's bedroom that he realised that Naruto was already taking a shower. Turning to leave, he paused when he thought he heard Naruto speak to him.

Walking over to the firmly shut bathroom door, he pressed his ear to it, about to call out and ask if Naruto had wanted something when he froze, mouth open. Under the sounds of the running water, he heard a low, languid moan. His pulse sped up and his cheeks were stained pink as he realised what was going on, listening to the moans and pants of a clearly excited Naruto. A final, strangled moan echoed through the bathroom door and thirty seconds later the hiss of the water stopped. As quietly as he could, Sasuke hurried out of the room to go back downstairs; his steps were careful and soft as he descended, remembering Naruto's good hearing.

When he went into the living room he found Chouji and Shikamaru laying a spread of junk food across the coffee table in the living room. Hinata and Sakura walked back into the room carrying blankets and pillows, which Sasuke recognised from the downstairs spare bedroom.

Chouji straightened up and said, "Pizza should be here within the next ten minutes, and we're starting the movie at 6.30pm. You might want to go get Naruto, since he's shouting tonight. I'm sure he's probably done with his shower now…"

Sasuke felt his cheeks warming and turned away from Chouji. Luckily, he spotted Naruto's wallet on the dining table in the other room. As soon as he was sure his cheeks weren't pink, he turned back to Chouji with a smile, saying, "Not a problem, he's left his wallet down here anyway." All eyes flicked to the door when the bell rang. Sasuke ran and grabbed Naruto's wallet, then answered the door.

"Hey, buddy," said the young, pimple-faced kid at the door. "I got eight pizzas for this address?"

"Yeah, that's right…do you guys take cards for payment?"

"Sure we do," the kid replied, happily digging around in his bag (if they didn't pay cash, he didn't have to work out change). "We have these mobile EFT machines now…just swipe and you know the rest."

"Hn." Sasuke swiped the card and dialled the pin in. Finding some small change in the pocket of the wallet, he tipped the kid and then brought the eight pizzas in and sat them on the coffee table.

Chouji was first to arrive at the pizza boxes and within ten seconds had sorted out which pizza belonged to who. Shikamaru, sitting on the couch with an open pizza box on his lap, looked up at Sasuke and mused aloud, "So he gave you the pin code to his credit cards? Otherwise what you did just there was _technically_ illegal, you know."

"Er, well…"

"Shika, don't be such an ass," Naruto said as he clumped down the stairs. "Couple of weeks ago when we went shopping for clothes and books I lent him my card and gave him the pin number. I trust him, so don't you go picking on him for your own amusement. Plus, I bet Chouji will get pissed off if you upset Sasuke. Right?"

Chouji sent Shikamaru a glare. Shikamaru sighed and shrugged. If they couldn't take a joke, then it wasn't worth the trouble of making one. Reaching down beside the couch, he grabbed a couple of bottles of beer and handed them out to the drinking adults. When Hinata pushed the play button on the DVD remote, everyone quickly settled down to eat and watch.

* * *

By the end of the movie everyone was comfortable – Hinata was relaxing on a plush recliner with mocktail in hand, Shika was laying on the couch staring at the ceiling and humming under his breath, while Sakura, Chouji and Naruto sat cross-legged in a circle about to start a drinking game. Sakura designated Sasuke as the 'bartender' for this game, so he sat beside the trio with a small supply of different bottles of alcohol.

From behind him he heard Hinata's soft voice saying, "Do bourbon shots for Sakura and Naru, and Chouji prefers vodka. I warn you though…Naru doesn't hold his alcohol that well."

"Okay. Thanks…Hinata," he smiled at her. Then they began to play a variety of harmless drinking games. Chouji soon dropped out of the game claiming that though he could hold his drink, he hated feeling hung-over.

In front of him, Sakura and Naruto were already quite worse for wear – after consuming five beers each, followed by numerous shots, Sakura was informing him exactly where he could stick his opinion on the topic of the manipulative nature of women.

"You c'n just shtick it up your ash-ashh…ass-" she hiccuped.

Naruto's face clouded with confusion, before he replied haltingly. "Now…why…? Why would I want to stick it up _my_ ass? If _anyone_…has to have something stuck up their butt…it should be…Sasuke? Right? Am I right?" He looked to Shikamaru and Chouji for confirmation, who were absolutely cracking up on the couch. Even the straight faced Hinata had her hands over her mouth to stifle the giggles. Sasuke's face burned with embarrassment. "I," Naruto declared. "Need to piss." Standing and stumbling up the stairs (no one understood why since there was a toilet downstairs) he left Sasuke cringing at the thought of being alone with the others after that last comment. Filling a shot glass with bourbon, he tossed it back in one mouthful.

"So," Sakura pronounced carefully. "You're definitely on the bottom with him around." Sasuke looked surprised that she could string words together after the amount of alcohol she'd consumed. "Oh, you're wondering why I'm not smashed like Naru, right? One of the things my professor is working on is helping negate the alcohol's side effects to help alcoholics recover. I'm a participant in his research. Works a treat."

Hinata came to sit next to him on the floor, amethyst eyes glittering in the dim light. "So, how are things going between you guys? You like each other, right?"

"Hn."

"Oh…come on. We already said we support you. How far have you guys gone? It's not like we'll tell Shizune," Hinata giggled.

"Fine…I'll list things and if you blush, then we'll know you've done it," Sakura said with an evil sort of triumph. "So…have you gone all the way yet?" No reaction. "Damn, he's behaved himself and held back." Sasuke downed another two shots, this time of the vodka. All this was kinda of making him hot and flustered.

Hinata leaned closer and in her soft, sweet voice asked, "Has he kissed you?" He could feel the blood rising in his cheeks as he remembered his first kiss, how breathy and shocked he had been, and the cocky words Naruto had said to him afterwards, _what's this? All your bravado used up?_

Sakura and Hinata giggled, Sakura saying, "Ah, we have a hit! So you guys have got your smooch on? Ha, I knew it!" Shikamaru and Chouji sat back on the couch without interfering, pitying expressions pasted on both faces. Although they felt bad that Sasuke had to go through this humiliation, neither wanted to mess with Sakura who was tomboy enough to be scary when she wanted.

"Has he…hum…seen you with your shirt off?" Sakura ran her finger along his collar bone. "I know that you must have some mighty pale and pretty skin beneath this shirt. So my question, Sasuke, has Naru worked his magic and made contact with it?"

Sasuke gulped. This was too close for comfort. Pulling back from Sakura, he said, "Yes, he has. And he's the _only_ one allowed to touch," he looked pointedly at her wandering fingertips. Gods, he'd just had his first experience with a man…did what Sakura was doing count as experience with a woman? In which case, he definitely wasn't interested in women – at all.

"So, has he gotten to your," she paused for effect, "man parts, yet?" When he blushed and scowled at her once more she laughed with delight. "Oh my, I seriously didn't think he would've gone that far…Shizune will be furious if she finds out. Should I tell her? Drop a few hints to her? Or maybe an anonymous tip? Though maybe if you and Naru put on a little show for us, I won't do it."

A sudden panic hit Sasuke. If Shizune found out, he might be taken away from Naruto's place. He'd already lost all of his family. He didn't know if he could stand losing the person who was now the most important part of his life; the one person who made him feel needed and wanted. He was already beginning to love Naruto, and the idea of losing yet another loved one was incomprehensible. Maybe his punishment for not being a better person was to lose the ones he wanted to stay. He heard footsteps coming down the stairs, much steadier than before.

"I feel much better now, Sakura. I finally tried the stuff your professor gave you and now I feel more mellow, less drunk. No more shots for me tonight since I know that I'll have a busy day tomorrow even if I'm not working," Naruto smiled, feeling quite sober compared to before he'd left. Once he sat down, Sasuke's panic, which was somewhat fuelled by the alcohol, propelled him into action. On hands and knees, he crawled across the rough carpet to plaster himself against Naruto, surprising everyone in the room. Sitting on Naruto's lap facing him, he wrapped his legs tightly behind him while Naruto made some surprised protests.

Yanking Naruto's face down to meet his own, Sasuke kissed him for all he was worth. He bit at Naruto's lips, bruising the soft skin, his tongue searching Naruto's warm cavern for a reaction. When Naruto tried to pull back, Sasuke clung to him more desperately than before, trying to pull Naruto's hands beneath his shirt.

"Sasuke! What are you doing?" Naruto said in a low, breathless tone. "In front of everyone like this…you _know_ we have to wait. I made promises to people, promises that I should at least try not to break a second time. Don't you think you're taking this game of tempting me a little too far?" Sasuke threw his arms around Naruto's shoulders, hugging him. Naruto was shocked to feel a tremble running through the youth's body. He wrapped his arms around Sasuke, asking in a soft, distressed voice, "What's wrong, Sasuke? Come on it can't be that bad. Tell me what's wrong so I can help you feel better."

Although he was mumbling into Naruto's shoulder, his answer was still audible. "We…we have to put on a good show. I don't want to be alone again, so we have to show them. Because Sakura needs to see… She doesn't know I can't be without you." He paused. "And I think I'm a bit drunk which will make Shizune even madder if Sakura tells… And you'll be in trouble. And I'll be alone… Make a show so she doesn't tell…" He trailed off, but Naruto understood the general idea of what had happened.

Standing up and lifting the pale youth with him, he said, "I'll be right back, I think Sasuke needs to sleep the alcohol off." Making a quick trip upstairs, he deposited Sasuke into his own bed thinking it would be for the best if they shared a bed tonight. Tucking him in he whispered assurances that he would be back soon to ease Sasuke's worries.

Once back downstairs, he angrily confronted Sakura. "Sakura! What the hell did you say to him?"

"Nothing bad, Naruto! I swear I was just kidding around with him. How was I supposed to know he would get that upset? It's not like I would really tell Shizune if you guys were bonking before he turned eighteen, you know."

Naruto threw his hands up in exasperation. "How much do you know about him, and why he's here? What did Chouji and Shika tell you?" He looked over at them and they raised their hands in a shrug – they had only mentioned the basics to Hinata and Sakura. "Do you even know what you were saying to him?"

"Calm down, already. Geez. They just told me that you had taken in a seventeen year old kid with nowhere else to go, that he was your type and that they were happy you had someone staying with you."

"Sakura, his whole family, _everyone_ he had in this world, has died within the last eight months. Eight months ago, he was made an orphan when his parents were in a fatal car crash. Just over a month ago, the brother who took guardianship of him decided he couldn't handle it and committed suicide. By threatening, seriously or not, to tell Shizune, you have threatened to have him taken away from the most stable place he's had in eight long, sad and scary months.

Do you know what it's like to be alone before you even know how to survive by yourself? It's terrifying. Sure, it's not like I'm supposed to fall in love with a kid. But I can hold back til he's eighteen and he doesn't have to leave. But if you told Shizu, she would be obliged to report me and he would be sent to a foster facility and pulled out of school despite the fact that there's only a week until he's eighteen and legal. What you said was unintentionally stupid and cruel." He took a deep breath and ran his hand through his severely mussed hair.

Tears rolled unchecked down Sakura's face. "I-I didn't know… I'm so sorry, Naruto. I really…I really wouldn't have reported it. I thought he would know I was joking." She covered her face with her hands. Naruto hesitated a moment before pulling her into a hug.

"I'm sorry for getting angry with you Sakura. I know you're a close friend who wouldn't do that intentionally…but you need to apologise to him tomorrow and make sure he understands that he can still trust adults. I'm going to head off to bed now, I suggest you guys do soon as well. Chouji and Shika, the upstairs spare room – the one near the nursery – it has a bed made and all, so you guys take that one. Hina and Sakura, you can take the downstairs one. It's easier for you not to climb stairs, right Hina?"

Hinata smiled at Naruto and made a small shooing motion as she moved over to comfort Sakura. Naruto climbed the stairs and moved to stand at his doorway, looking in at his bed. From here he could see the jet black hair splayed across the pillow, sighing he stripped down to boxers and crawled in beside Sasuke. Sasuke shifted unconsciously to curl against the front of his body. Throwing caution to the wind and not thinking about appropriateness, he wrapped his arms around Sasuke's lean frame and pulled him close. The small smile on Sasuke's sleeping face was the last thing Naruto saw before he drifted off into a dream world where pizzas dance and Sasuke never wore clothes…

* * *

A/N: Hey guys. I really thank you for your patience, especially those of you who are following this story. I really did plan to write more sooner, but as you know life rarely goes to plan. A few weeks ago, my dog of eleven years passed away, so I kind of lost motivation to write for a little while – if I had been writing, I have a feeling I would have been either killing all the characters or making them as sad as me.

So anyway, I really hope this chapter was worth the wait. You would be surprised to know that this chapter, had I gone according to plan, would probably be twice the length it is now, but I have decided to separate it and take the right amount of time to write another good chapter. There are only going to be another 2 – 3 chapters of _FM_ so please keep enjoying.

One last thing, in this chapter I kept swapping which characters perspective I was following; so sometimes it was from Naru or Sasu, and a couple of times from the others. I tried to make it as clear as possible, but I don't know if I succeeded. If you have time to comment, I would love to hear if you found the chapter easy to follow.

Smile

~dusk.


	8. Chapter 8

After the death of his parents in a car accident and his older brother's suicide, Sasuke is left alone in the world. Naruto is a kind-hearted cop who takes him in. Sasuke wants to find more than a house, he wants a home. Will he find it?

Warning: NaruSasu pairing, AU/AH, slash, yaoi, romance, mature, hurt/comfort, _**lime**_

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the characters; they belong to the brilliant Kishimoto.

Chapter Eight

Sasuke smiled as the kitten crawled across his chest. Kittens were so warm and heavy and…wait. His eyes popped open. He'd never had a kitten. Turning his head to the right, which caused his brain to throb with a dull ache, he realised that Naruto was in his bed. Or rather he was in Naruto's bed, he thought as he took in the rest of the room. And the imaginary kitten? He glanced down and realised that Naruto's arm had settled across the flat plane of his shirtless chest. His eyes widened. Shirtless chest…had he finally tempted Naruto into action? Lifting the sheets, he tilted his head forward and saw that he was still wearing pants, and even more disappointing, Naruto was still in his boxers.

Letting his head drop back to settle on the pillow, he thought about last night, or at least what he remembered clearly of it. Oh yeah…that bitch had threatened to tell Shizune about Naruto and him. But since he was in bed with Naruto and there were no handcuffs in sight (though in another context he considered briefly that they could be a lot of fun), he assumed that no one had told Shizune anything. Turning his head to face Naruto, he studied the kind face of the man who had taken him in. Blonde hair ruffled, skin with the pink glow of health, soft lips parted with steady breaths passing them by.

Sasuke stared at Naruto's eyes as they began to scrunch up before opening to look at him, slightly out of focus. Sasuke's heart fluttered slightly when Naruto's eyes finally focused on him and a warm smile crossed his face. Internally, Sasuke said, _shut up you stupid heart. This is nothing to get excited over, it was just a smile…_ Externally however, he picked up his normal cool tone and said to Naruto, "So I finally tempted you into bed with me, huh?"

Naruto gave an easy grin in response. "Not exactly. For one thing, _you_ are in bed with _me_. For another, when we actually go to bed for the first time…you'll definitely know what we've been doing afterwards."

Sasuke felt his cheeks heat. Damn this man and his ability to make him blush, he grimaced. Stupid Naruto. Turning his head away from Naruto, his eyes settled on the bedside clock. Abruptly, he pushed Naruto's arm away and sat bolt upright. Craaaap. It's 8.30am on a Friday. Thirty minutes to get ready and get to school. Looking over at Naruto, he asked with an annoyed tone, "Oi, why didn't you set the alarm? You may not have work today, but I still have to go to school – I can't miss anymore lessons or I will be too behind to catch up. You suck."

Naruto raised his eyebrows at the last. He thought Sasuke must really be panicking if he couldn't do better than "you suck" as an insult. Sighing, he said, "Relax, Sasuke. You've forgotten, right? Half-day? It's parent-teacher interviews this morning. So _you_ don't have to go anywhere until lunchtime. I, on the other hand, have to go to your school around 10.30am." Now it was Sasuke's turn to raise his eyebrows.

"You're going to talk to my teachers? About what?" What on earth did his teachers need to meet Naruto for? More to the point, what would they say to Naruto? That he was rude, anti-social with anyone bar Gaara and Neji, and that he rarely did what they said, instead preferring to work according to his own regime.

"Sasuke…I really don't know what you're so worried about. I'm not going to talk to your teachers since you're pretty much acing all of your subjects. But your principal called yesterday and wants me to come down and sign off on all the special consideration documents so that your time away from school is legit." Sasuke watched Naruto's eyes flick to the glowing red numerals on the screen of the bedside clock. "I guess I should get up and go cook. The others will be awake soon and they will probably be hungry and since Hina's pregnant, I can't just ignore their complaints today. Gah."

Sasuke stared as Naruto climbed out of bed and clasped his hands behind his head and pushing his bare chest out. Sasuke swallowed as he watched the muscles shift under skin turned golden by sunlight. Naruto shuffled over to the chest of draws opposite his bed and rummaged through for some clothes that wouldn't need to be ironed. He finally came out with a tan pair of cargo pants and a loose, white, short-sleeved shirt.

Over his shoulder, Naruto said, "Come downstairs whenever you're hungry. I'll be leaving around ten, and the others will probably go sometime before twelve, so just ask one of them to drop you at school for your afternoon classes. Oh, also, do you want me to pick you up when you finish today? I have a few things to do out at HQ, plus grocery shopping, so I could grab you on the way back?"

Sasuke flopped back against the bed. "Yeah, okay. That sounds fine." With the reminder that they had guests, the memories of the end of last night flooded back. He really didn't want to see Sakura, but he probably wouldn't have a choice about it. Naruto threw a smile over his shoulder as he left the room to scrounge up a breakfast for the guests.

x-x-x-x-x

Forty-five minutes later, Sasuke headed downstairs showered and refreshed. As he neared the bottom, he slowed upon hearing Sakura and Naruto's voices.

"…fix it. You shouldn't have said it in the first place, since you hadn't known him long enough to earn his trust and for him to understand you were mucking around."

"Yeah, I know, I know already!" came Sakura's frustrated voice. "I really wasn't trying to be cruel or anything like that. I mean, from what I've seen of him, I like the kid. He's obviously smarter than you," Naruto snorted rudely, "and he's got the beginnings of a wonderfully cocky attitude once his confidence develops, too. Definitely my sort of kid."

"So then what'd you go and say those stupid things for?" said Naruto in exasperation. "Had you been nicer he might have warmed up to you and your own blunt attitude."

"Ah Naruto…" she hesitated before continuing, "this will sound really stupid…"

"Come on, out with it."

"Well, it's just that I'm kind of jealous." She rushed on before he could make any assumptions. "It's not that I'm in love with you or anything, but you've been my closest friend for years and since you took him in…you don't seem to need me much anymore. You don't call as often, and when you do, you hurry off to hang with your new life partner. I've never seen you this serious with anyone. Meanwhile, I have no life of my own – no partner or friends other than you guys. I'm too busy with med school to get into a committed relationship and I just…I don't want to lose you as you all partner up and leave me behind."

"Ah Sakura-" Before Naruto could finish, Sasuke thumped down the rest of the stairs to make his presence known. He moved into the kitchen finding Naruto emptying a pan full of scrambled eggs onto plates laden with toast, bacon and sausages; Sakura sitting on the other side of the bench on a chair that had been dragged over from the table. Sasuke nodded awkwardly at her, not knowing what to say.

He saw Sakura open her mouth to say something, but before she could he grabbed a plate from the bench top and said, "Uh, I'll be in my room if anyone wants me. Study to do, and stuff." He headed back to his room, thinking about what he'd overheard. He was no longer angry with Sakura because he understood not wanting people you love to leave you, but he still felt awkward about it all.

Up in his room, he locked the door and made good on his claims of study, digging in to the pile of school work that he was catching up with since being away.

x-x-x-x-x

Downstairs, Sakura pulled a face. "Well. That was awkward," seeing the look Naruto threw at her, she hurried on, "don't worry, though. I'll talk to him later. Actually, I'll ask Hina to catch a lift with Chouji and Shika, and then talk to him when he catches a lift to school with me."

"Alright. Sounds good, I guess. Look, I need to go shower, change and head off. There's a report Shizune wants to give me today to take to Sasuke's school," Naruto replied, before coming round the bench to give Sakura a quick hug. "You shouldn't worry so much about losing me. We've been on the same team since high school, I'm not about to ditch the friendship."

Sakura smiled at him. "Yeah, yeah. Now go get ready and head off, or you'll wind up late."

Twenty-five minutes later, Naruto bounced back down the stairs to say goodbye to his friends and head in to HQ. When he arrived, HQ was pretty quiet, as was usual for day times. During the day there were less crimes being reported, in part due to the fact that people were at work or school. On his way to see Shizune, he was only stopped once by his friend Kiba who was currently working with the K9 unit. Rapping his knuckles softly on her door, he entered to find Shizune typing furiously away at something.

"Hey Shizu," he said. "Am I interrupting? I just came to pick up the documents confirming Sasuke's absence as legitimate.

"Huh? Uh, yeah, yeah. In that outbox tray over there, top document…" she replied, distractedly. Squinting at her computer screen, the next couple of keystrokes were made so aggressively Naruto was afraid she would damage the keyboard.

"What's wrong? You seem unhappy today," he asked, concerned. He saw her hands clench and unclench, before she heaved a great sigh.

"You know the big trial that's being held for the infamous crime lord Orochimaru, a.k.a. the White Serpent?" Naruto confirmed this with a nod. "The defence is moving to dismiss the case based on some information apparently received regarding the mishandling of evidence by one of our lab techs. If he's successful, everything we have worked for within the current specialised task force will go to waste. Years of police effort and money…" She dropped her head to her hands. "It's just a nightmare."

Naruto moved to the chair behind her desk and dropped into it. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, it's just a long processes of re-examining our evidence to make sure it will stand up to any scrutiny. Anyway, how are you? How're things going with the boy at home?" She narrowed her eyes at him, "You are behaving yourself right? Nothing inappropriate, I hope." Naruto felt his stomach drop a little. Hopefully she was just kidding.

"Of course I'm not being inappropriate. You could even ask Chouji – he and the others spent the night at my place last night. Things at home are going well…it's only a week until his eighteen and I make my mo- uh, I mean, until we celebrate his birthday. He seems to be coping well with school and living at my place, so no complaints." Crap…he needed to get out of Shizu's office before he accidentally blurted out the fact that he had kind of, somewhat broken his promise. But only a little, he tried to reassure himself. "I'm, um, I'm going to head off. Partners, oh, I mean, _parents_ day at his school today…"

"Naruto…you're acting suspiciously…don't tell me you've-" she broke off as Naruto bolted out of her office before she could finish that question. Ten seconds later she felt her cell phone buzz in her pocket. Flipping it open, she opened a text message from, oddly enough, Naruto. She sighed and figured she should just give up when she read the message:

**hey shizu :)**

**I was thinking mayB**

**it wuld b a gud idea**

**2 implemnt a dnt ask,**

**dnt tell policy regrding**

**sasuke.**

**Then I wnt hve 2 lie 2 u.**

**-naruto.**

x-x-x-x-x

The awkward silence stretched throughout the car as Sakura drove Sasuke to school. There was a moments reprieve granted by Naruto's quick phone call to let him know that his special consideration was all sorted out and that he would meet Sasuke by the East Gate when school was over. Now it was back to silence. Deafening, awkward, uncomfortable silence. Sasuke tensed as Sakura drew a deep breath.

"Sasuke. I'm sorry I freaked you out last night. I really want to be on good terms with you since you are Naruto's partner." She spoke stiffly and was staring at the road ahead with all her might. She'd made the move, and that left the ball squarely in Sasuke's court now. Sasuke stared at her blankly for a moment. The fact that she acknowledged him as Naruto's partner was enough for him to forgive her.

"Hn. 'S fine." Sakura breathed out and visibly relaxed. He cleared his throat and said quietly, "I kind of…overheard you this morning. I…I understand. About wanting to keep the ones you love."

Now that Sakura felt things were all squared off between them (and she didn't particularly care if he overheard that morning's discussion if it made him feel more forgiving towards her). "So Sasuke…how _are_ things going in your relationship together?" She stole a quick glance at his face and quickly added, "No, I'm serious this time. No jokes or teasing….I won't do that again until we get to know each other better…which I am trying to do now. If doing relationship talk is too much…how about…umm…what you want to do when you leave high school? Or favourite holiday location?"

Sasuke's lips quirked upwards in a brief smile. At least she was trying. "Favourite holiday location…the mountains for camping. That's always fun. Ummm, when I leave high school I am hoping to be able to do a double degree. I'm aiming to do a Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences and Bachelor of Laws…though the marks required are extremely high, I think I can get in next year. And lastly…the relationship is currently non-existent. Until next week."

"Seriously? He's never been good at going by the rules before…you must mean a lot to him if he's trying this hard. Ah…this is your school, right? I'll see you in a few days for your birthday party. I hope we can become good friends." And then she gave him a smile which made him understand why she and Naruto were friends. Though blunt and sometimes outspoken, she had a genuine warmth and acceptance for Naruto and it showed in her smile that this extended to whomever he chose to partner.

Ducking out of the car, Sasuke gave a small wave and brief smile and pretended to know what birthday party for himself she was talking about. "See you at the party then."

x-x-x-x-x

Naruto leant against the hood of his station wagon as he waited at the East Gate for Sasuke to finish classes. He had done everything on today's checklist (including changing his outfit to hopefully impress Sasuke's peers). He watched as students started to trickle out of the buildings, like a multitude of colourful ants. His attention peaked when he noticed two guys around Sasuke's age heading his direction. One had short, reddish hair with blue eyes framed by dark circles, and a lanky frame. The other had long black hair that fell to his waist and was tied back loosely, and the same amethyst eyes as…

"Hi," said the red-headed boy, while giving Naruto the once over. "Hn. So you're Sasuke's."

"I'm Sasuke's…what?" he asked, confused, before turning to the black-haired youth. "You're Hinata's cousin, right? I didn't know you were at school with Sasuke."

"I'm Neji and that's Gaara. I didn't realise you knew Hinata. We're Sasuke's friends." He abruptly stopped talking, leaving an open moment of silence. _Awkward_, thought Naruto.

"Well, nice to meet you guys, I guess. Gaara…right? Gaara, what did you mean when you said 'Hn. So you're Sasuke's.'"

"Sasuke told us his boyfriend was picking him up at the gate. He also told us that you belong to him, and to let none of the girls touch you…since he saw you from the window and realised you would attract attention, he sent us to…stop that from happening while he speaks to his teacher and gets his stuff. People won't approach while we are here." Neji just nodded along, clearly comfortable in letting Gaara talk. "Basically, he's jealous over the idea that other people could approach his prime property."

Naruto's eyebrows raised with the last statement, and he only just managed to refrain from bursting out with laughter. He could see how the three were friends. They all radiated a similar aura to Sasuke; confidence with a slightly contemptuous air, clearly regarding others as less important. The only thing that really surprised him was that Sasuke had clearly told the two boys the bald truth about their relationship.

"I see. Will he be much lon-" he looked up to see Sasuke hurrying towards him, books haphazardly shoved into his bag. He grinned and waved a hand "Hey, Sasuke. Ready to go? Want me to give your friends a lift?"

"No," Sasuke said, tight lipped. "They have people coming to get them. Let's go." Naruto could feel the annoyance in those words and was surprised. He hadn't actually had a chance to do anything wrong yet, so he wasn't sure what bee was in Sasuke's bonnet. He jumped in the car the moment the doors unlocked and as Naruto peeled out of the parking lot, Sasuke stared out the window.

"Erm, Sasuke…what's the matter? I've picked you up before and you've never acted like this... Are you upset that your friends met me?" Naruto asked tentatively. Sasuke waved the questions off with a slight hand motion.

"I sent them down to meet you. If I didn't want them to meet you, I simply wouldn't have sent them." His lips thinned more as he pressed them together.

"Then what did I do wrong…?" Naruto was feeling the beginnings of annoyance. After all, he still hadn't been told clearly what he had done wrong.

Sasuke turned to glare at him. "Look at you! Look at what you're wearing. You weren't wearing that this morning," he snapped accusingly. Naruto looked down as his clothes, surprised. He was wearing tight-ish black jeans and a studded leather belt. His sky blue shirt stood out beneath the black leather jacket he was wearing, the necklace his foster mum had given him matching the shirt perfectly. Since he wasn't working, the silver earrings, two on the left ear and four on the right, stood out against his tanned skin and blonde hair.

"I thought I looked nice," he said, despondently. "I guess not, huh?"

"Oh, shut up. You know good and well you look like sex on legs dressed like that. I hate it when other people see you like that. Especially when it's girls. You're already attractive and you go and dress up and catch their attention even more. Now they all want an introduction and are fantasising about holding you hand and kissing your lips." He fell into silence after this mini rant, and something clicked into place in Naruto's brain. It wasn't that he had done something wrong at all…Sasuke was just upset that other people were looking at his man. Especially, he realised, since Sasuke couldn't just stake his claim like a girlfriend could without causing a scandal. He sighed.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke. I was only trying to impress you by changing into something nice and instead I made you upset." They pulled into the driveway, and Sasuke was out of the car and into the house before Naruto could even take the key out of the ignition. Sighing yet again, Naruto made his way inside, dropping his keys in the key bowl by the door, and walking through to the kitchen. He was surprised when he felt a solid _flump!_ as Sasuke threw himself at Naruto.

Naruto's arms automatically moved up to hold Sasuke, who had wrapped his legs tightly around Naruto's waist and was twisting his fingers almost painfully into Naruto's hair. Naruto looked into Sasuke's eyes and he could almost feel the heat of their intensity. Yanking Naruto's head down a little he said childishly, "You are mine. _Mine._ They can look, but only I can touch…right?"

Naruto dropped his head so that their foreheads were touching. Still staring at Sasuke's blazing, possessive eyes, Naruto smiled and replied gently, "And _you_ are _mine_." Feeling that the declarations were over, Naruto pulled Sasuke up to him, spun to hold him against the wall and pressed his lips firmly to Sasuke's. At first, he felt Sasuke's stubborn resistance, which really made him want to laugh, but gradually Sasuke let himself be won over as Naruto began to press kisses not only to Sasuke's lips, but his cheek, then his jaw line, and then finally his neck. He gasped when Naruto found the sensitive spot on his neck that sent shudders through his body.

Through their clothing, he could feel Naruto's erection pressed against his butt. Sasuke took advantage of the fact that Naruto was using both hands to hold him up and slid his hands beneath Naruto's sky blue shirt. He was rewarded by a sharp inhalation when he lightly pinched Naruto's nipples, twisting the nubs lightly with his finger tips. Realising he could push his advantage further, Sasuke leaned back a little to trap Naruto's hands against the wall. Naruto bent and began to kiss Sasuke some more. Sasuke let his feet drop from behind Naruto and slid down his body a little.

Naruto, engrossed in kissing Sasuke (and groping his butt a little) took a moment to realise that Sasuke was sliding down the zipper on his tight, black jeans. "Sasuke…we're meant to be waiting…" he groaned as his cock, now freed from the tough denim, strained against the silk of his boxers. Sasuke smirked and reached down to let his fingers, butterfly soft, stroke Naruto's length through the silk.

Naruto tugged his hands in a weak attempt to stop the proceedings, before giving in to his desire to watch Sasuke. Sasuke's face was an odd combination of lust and curiosity; he'd never done this before, so this was a learning experience for him. Feeling Naruto's eyes on him, he looked up and said simply "Can I take off your pants? I want to see your…" Then he blushed as he realised what he'd asked. Grasping that Sasuke was curious Naruto mutely nodded his permission, and hoped to hell Shizune would go with the don't ask, don't tell policy he had suggested.

Sasuke finally released Naruto's trapped hands. He moved forward to Naruto and slowly, slowly slid down the pants and boxers until they were pooled on the floor. His first thought seeing Naruto's nude cock was _whoa, big!_ Not just long, but thick too. Standing directly in front of Naruto, he let his hand drop between them to lightly wrap around Naruto's thick member. He felt Naruto shiver, and he smiled. He squeezed gently and began to stroke a slow rhythm. He used his other hand to play with Naruto's nipples, and raised his face to offer Naruto a kiss.

Naruto accepted this invitation and leaned down to nibble at Sasuke's lower lip before drawing him in to a hot, desperate kiss. Sasuke squeezed and quickened the pace…he wanted to hear the noise that Naruto had made in the shower yesterday. Naruto broke the kiss as a low moan escaped his lips, and Sasuke, doing as Naruto had done to him, used the slick pre-cum to lubricate Naruto's cock. He saw Naruto's hand clench, and felt his cock throb before his efforts were rewarded as Naruto gasped "Sasuke!" before coming into Sasuke's hand.

His head dropped to Sasuke's shoulder and he remained that way for a moment, breathing heavily. Bending over, Naruto retrieved his boxers from the floor, using them to clean Sasuke's hand. Smiling at Sasuke, he said in a husky voice, "Was that what you expected?"

In a voice barely a whisper, Sasuke replied, "So hot," before pulling Naruto towards him for another kiss. Sasuke's own excitement had pushed him to the brink. His cock was trapped uncomfortably by his pants and leaned against Naruto, shivering. "Please," he whispered against Naruto's lips. Naruto's lips left his as he knelt to remove Sasuke's pants and underwear.

Kneeling before Sasuke, Naruto grinned before saying, "I think we have time for one more first today." Looking at Sasuke's throbbing, weeping cock he smiled briefly before gently sucking it into his mouth. Sasuke groaned and his hands came down to rest on Naruto's head. Naruto expertly bobbed his head along Sasuke's length, using his tongue to tease and torment the inexperienced youth.

Reaching up, he slid his index finger into Sasuke's mouth. Watching the raven haired boy, eyes closed, cheeks flushed pink, Naruto whispered, "Beautiful…" Sasuke, oblivious, obediently sucked and salivated on the digit before it was removed and he only made the connection to the purpose of his sucking when he felt a gentle pressure against his virgin anus. He felt Naruto wipe slick pre-cum against the tight little opening before pressing the wet finger slowly into his body.

Unused to the sensation, Sasuke moaned and shifted his hips trying to evade the finger. Naruto's arm moved to keep his hips still. Finally, unable to evade any longer, Naruto's finger popped past the hot, tight ring of flesh. "Ahh…nn…aaah!" Before too much discomfort could set in, Naruto began to suck Sasuke's cock again, while gently shifting his finger to find the prostate. Suddenly, Sasuke bucked against him as he hit the right spot. He moved his finger over and over that spot inside Sasuke, while he sucked and licked Sasuke's cock until he felt Sasuke tense and moan as he finally released his load and had his legs give way beneath him.

x-x-x-x-x

Minutes later, Sasuke felt himself scooped up and carried upstairs. He opened his eyes to see that they were on their way into Naruto's en suite. Regaining the use of his legs, he had a quick shower with Naruto before going downstairs for a light dinner. Realising how aggressive he had been before, Sasuke was now feeling a little embarrassed and awkward. Rather than torment him further (which he had considered doing), Naruto was kind enough to instead ask Sasuke about his day and the like.

"Hn. It was ok. Sakura and I are okay with each other…and by the way," Sasuke said coolly. "What's all this I'm hearing about a birthday party?" Naruto's eyes widened a little.

"Ahhh, yeah, about that…I decided to throw you an eighteenth birthday party since that way everyone will know you are officially eighteen and we can do whatever we like. Plus…you'll get some presents and drink a bit…should be a good night. Very important for people to see, I mean, for you to experience this. I'll organise it carefully, as long as you're not too distracting."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at Naruto. "Sounds like you've already got this all planned out. Should I be worried?"

Naruto just grinned cheekily, before making Sasuke blush by retorting, "Hey, if either one of us should be worried, it should be me. Right Mr I'm-gonna-attack-my-boyfriend-in-the-kitchen-and-have-my-way-with-him?" Laughing at Sasuke's scowl, he ruffled the soft, black hair as he crossed to sink. "Look, I have an early day tomorrow, so I'm going to go get ready for bed…"

An evil smirk appeared on Sasuke's face. "As of today, I am going to sleep in your bed since it's easier to sleep when I'm with you," for a moment, Naruto thought this was sweet, "But until you sort out this birthday party and all, Mr I'm-gonna-attack-my-boyfriend-in-the-kitchen-and-have-my-way-with-him is going to sleep beside you. Naked. And there will be no messing around til the party is over since you think it's so important and I don't want to be 'distracting'." Sighing and knowing he wouldn't win even if he argued, Naruto just headed upstairs to get ready for bed, contemplating whether there was a way to torment Sasuke in return without suffering himself.

x-x-x-x-x

A/N: Hey guys, sorry for the long delay. Life has been hectic as always. I won't make any promises of a time frame for when the next chappie will be finished, but I will do my best ^_^

Also I'm not sure if they will remove this post from FF since I'm not sure it meets the rating criteria. If they pull it, I would recommend you view it from my livejournal account instead.

Please enjoy, and review if you have time ^_^

~dusk. xo


	9. Chapter 9 End

After the death of his parents in a car accident and his older brother's suicide, Sasuke is left alone in the world. Naruto is a kind-hearted cop who takes him in. Sasuke wants to find more than a house, he wants a home. Will he find it?

Warning: NaruSasu pairing, **lemon**, AU/AH, slash, yaoi, romance, mature, hurt/comfort

Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the characters; they belong to the brilliant Kishimoto.

Chapter Nine

It was 5.50am and Naruto was about half-way through his eight kilometre (4.9 miles) run. Today he was running the dirt path that curved through a park near his home. Loving the feel of the cool, fresh air permeating his lungs, he kept up his even, measured pace. This was one of his favourite activities, and one of his favourite times of day. But this was not the only reason he was in such a good mood. When he had woken up this morning, the grin had been there instantly. It was July twenty-third, a Saturday, and the day the Sasuke was finally, _finally_ eighteen years old.

The first thing he had seen when he opened his eyes this morning had been Sasuke, sound asleep and curled up beside him in bed. Slow, deep breaths had told Naruto that Sasuke was still soundly asleep, and he had marvelled at the long black eyelashes that were starkly contrasted by the pale skin of his face. Deciding not to wake the birthday boy just yet, Naruto had decided to follow his normal routine of going for a run, then coming home to make the birthday boy a special breakfast and decorate for the small party tonight.

After arriving home, Naruto set out to decorate. The weather was set to warm up considerably over the day, and the evening was forecast to be a warm 24°C (75.2°F) before it started to cool down overnight, so Naruto hauled the fairy lights and paper lanterns that he kept for garden parties out of the shed, and hung them up throughout the backyard. There was already a large wooden table and four chairs on the paved patio extending out into his large backyard. He cleaned the barbeque, hooking up the new gas tank, and brought out the lawn mower to use later. Finally satisfied that the patio was pretty close to set up, he went back inside to shower in the downstairs guest room and then prepare breakfast.

He laid out pancakes, butter, golden syrup, freshly whipped cream and fresh fruit out neatly on a tray. With the tray and a jug of hot coffee in hand, he crept into the bedroom where Sasuke slept at 8.30am. Setting it all down on the bedside table he leant down to Sasuke, and gently blew air in his ear until he stirred, eyebrows furrowing. Suddenly his eyes popped wide open and he started when he found Naruto inches from his face. Then his face relaxed into a small smile.

"Eighteen," he murmured to Naruto.

Grinning in reply, Naruto leant down to plant a kiss on his cheek. "Happy birthday, old man. Here's your breakfast, and while you eat, I'm going to go pick up your birthday cake and some drinks and so on. I won't be back until the afternoon, so feel free to relax and don't do any worrying. Chouji will be here at noon – he's going to do the barbeque."

"Hmmm. Well, I think I'll eat breakfast and go back to sleep for a while. I want to be well rested for tonight," Sasuke said absentmindedly. He looked over to see Naruto's eyebrow raised questioningly, a broad smile on his face. Sasuke flushed and scowled. "I meant I'll be well rested for the _party_. Don't go misinterpreting things just because you can."

"Ah, but you want to be well rested for after the party too. Don't deny it, I know these things," Naruto replied cheerfully. Suddenly a frown crossed his face. "Damn…I forgot to mow the lawn and I had a shower already. Crap. Now I'm going to go mow the lawn, have _another_ shower, and then go do the things I mentioned before. You go ahead and eat or sleep or relax." Naruto was already crossing the room to put on some old sneakers that he kept especially for garden work. He gave one last quick smile to Sasuke before slipping out of the room.

x-x-x-x-x

When Naruto came back upstairs an hour later, Sasuke was sleeping soundly once more, empty tray beside the bed. Naruto tried to remember if he had liked to sleep that much when he was a teen, but didn't think so. Oh well, if this was Sasuke's idea of fun, it was fine. In the bathroom, he found a note taped to the door of the shower that read:

_Hey Naruto. Gone to sleep again; will get up soon and study though. You need to leave a set of keys for Chouji, in case I decide to go out, since he's helping with your plans. Sasuke. P.S. Don't dress up this time – I can't make people back off when you're in public on your own and I _will_ get irritated._

The last line made him chuckle, and he thought about the (steamy) consequences of dressing up last time he picked up Sasuke from school. It would totally be worth it. He showered then dropped his shirt in the wash basket. As he crossed his room, he saw another note tacked to his wardrobe door and all it said was:

_Don't even think about it. The consequences won't be the same as last time._

Ohhh-kay. Well, that was a little creepy. He showered and chucked on a pair of comfortable blue jeans and a faded orange polo shirt. There was nothing Sasuke could complain about with these clothes. He did, however, slip in his earrings and grab a pair of sunnies for later.

x-x-x-x-x

Sasuke came downstairs that afternoon and was surprised to see that Chouji was already in the yard barbequing, since he hadn't heard him arrive. His chemistry assignment was proving to be more difficult than he had anticipated, and he had studied for a while before consulting Neji via phone and was now left feeling drained. His time off in June had left him behind in chemistry and physics, and though he was catching up it was more difficult than he was letting on to Naruto. Add in the random waves of sadness he felt for Itachi, and he just felt exhausted.

He stepped outside to say a quick greeting to Chouji, before going back inside to make himself a sandwich for lunch. While standing there making his sandwich, he smiled as he thought about the effort Naruto was going to for his birthday. Though he claimed it was to make sure everyone knew it was legal, Sasuke realised that Naruto was just trying to make sure he had some good memories of his eighteenth birthday. _Riiing, riiing!_ The trilling of the phone interrupted his thoughts.

Hesitantly, he answered. "Hi, Uzumaki...and Uchiha residence, Sasuke speaking."

There was a pause on the line, before a woman cleared her throat. "Hello, Sasuke, was it? My name is Kurenai Yuhi, and I work for Fredrickson, Thyme and Wexler Lawyers. I am calling on behalf of Minato Namikaze who is trying to get into contact with Naruto Uzumaki. Would he happen to be there? Or would you give me his cell phone number?"

"Err…I can't just give out Naruto's number without his permission. If you leave your phone number with me, I can ask him to call you back in a few hours, once he gets home." Sasuke's curiosity was raised. Why would someone need lawyers to contact Naruto on their behalf? He would have to ask later. The lady left her details, and promptly hung up.

x-x-x-x-x

When Naruto walked in the front door at 5.30pm, only an hour before guests were supposed to arrive, his arms were laden with party wares. There were bags hanging from his left wrist with streamers, a table cloth, candles, confetti and bags of lollies. In his hands, he carried a huge black forest chocolate cake, and bobbing merrily along above his head was a bunch of multicoloured helium filled balloons tied to his right wrist.

Spotting Sasuke sitting dressed up in the lounge room as he went to the kitchen, he called out, "Sorry I was out so long. It took me ages to find a cake shop with decent black forest cake. And then there was the matter of your present, which is secret for now." He walked back into the room, and smiled at Sasuke. "Ready for tonight?"

"Hn. Should be good. Naruto…there was a phone call for you while you were out? A lawyer named Kurenai was calling on behalf of Minato somebody or other… You have to call her back. I wrote the number on the note pad in the kitchen." Sasuke was surprised to see Naruto tensing up as he spoke. A crease formed between his brows, and he began to clench and unclench his hands. "What's wrong Naruto…should I have not said you would call her back?"

"Huh?" Naruto looked confused for a second before he gave a small smile to Sasuke. "No, its fine."

"What's wrong?" Sasuke said bluntly. He could see Naruto trying to avoid the question, but he was worried and determined to make sure Naruto was okay. "You can either tell me now, or tell me later, but I'm warning you…I will be worried about you throughout my party if you keep that expression on your face. Tell me."

Naruto sighed. "Let me set up this stuff quickly, and then you can come and talk to me upstairs while I get changed." Naruto took the stuff he'd just bought outside and finding Chouji had invited Shikamaru to keep him company, left the rest of the decorating in their capable hands. When he went upstairs, he found Sasuke already there…and an outfit laid out on the bed for him. Black jeans, white singlet, pale purple short-sleeved shirt. Oh well. It was Sasuke's birthday, so he didn't mind wearing the chosen outfit.

"So. The phone call?" Sasuke asked questioningly. Naruto quickly changed clothes before going to sit on the bed with Sasuke.

"Look…" he began. "Basically, you know I was adopted, right?" Sasuke nodded – he remembered his conversation with Shikamaru and Chouji very clearly, though he hadn't really discussed it with Naruto. "Well…the lawyer is calling on behalf of my biological father. He wants to get in touch with me, but I don't want to talk to him. He's persistent though, so the agency keeps getting lawyers to call and 'mediate'. I don't want to call back, but I'll have to…" He trailed off, turning his face away so he wouldn't have to look Sasuke in the eye.

"You don't want anything to do with your biological father? Is he…a bad guy?" Sasuke was hesitant about asking these questions, but he wanted to know, wanted to help.

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know, I haven't met the guy, don't want to meet the guy."

"You've never even met him?" Sasuke's eyebrows went up in surprise. "I thought you were adopted around at around age eleven?"

"I see you've been talking to Shika or Chouji," he said with a small smile. "Yeah, I've never actually met either of my birth parents…my mom, she died in childbirth, and apparently Minato is an elite undercover government agent. He loved his job and, I have been told, is amazing at it. With him working there, there is greater potential to save lives. So, with his love and commitment to the job and the people he can protect, and no one to look after me, I was fostered out. There are many great foster families out there in the world, Sasuke. But there are also some who are as bad as some of the stories you read in the paper or see on Oprah."

For a second, the shadow of painful memories crossed Naruto's face before he shook his head and pulled himself away of them. "In any case, I find it hard not to resent the man who chose his career over his son…even if it doing so means he saved millions of lives. Plus, he never got to know me, so why should he start now? And I _was_ lucky. I always tell people I was adopted by good people when I talk about it. And I was…the second time. People don't need to know what the first lot were like. But when I was adopted at twelve, it was by a couple who genuinely cared and who liked to foster older kids. I was lucky because they chose to keep me around…they were good parents."

Sasuke was at a loss for words. Just by looking at Naruto, he knew that the man in front of him would find pity intolerable, but at the same time, his pain wasn't something Sasuke could just shrug off. Finally, he moved across the bed and pulled Naruto into a light hug. "I'm sorry things sucked for you, and I'm glad they got better."

Naruto smiled, gently squeezing Sasuke's arm, which was around his neck, to let him know the gesture was appreciated. "Hey, look where it got me. Good house, good job and most of all, you. Now, I say we go downstairs and enjoy your party; forget about all this for tonight…I'll call the lawyer back tomorrow, if they are open. People should be here soon."

x-x-x-x-x

The night had gone great, so far. It was nearly 11pm, and the small group of maybe twenty people were milling about talking and listening to the music. When the lights went out and the music quieted, everyone looked expectantly to the door, and sure enough, there was Naruto with the cake. Candles ablaze and chocolate piled high, Naruto carefully carried it to the table while launching into a very loud and enthusiastic rendition of the "Happy Birthday" song. Everyone joined him in the song and crowded around the table expectantly as Hinata pushed a knife into the hand of a supremely embarrassed and blushing Sasuke.

As the song ended, Sasuke acquiesced to their requests that he cut the cake (he made sure not to touch the bottom*) and blow out the candles. The lights were turned on and cake was handed around to all the guests. Once everyone was settled with their cake, Gaara stepped forward and lightly clanked his fork against his glass in order to get everyone's attention.

"Hi everyone. I'm Gaara, and I would just like to say a few quick words about Sasuke. We," he said, indicating to himself, then Neji and Sasuke, "have known each other for a while now. And been friends for a good deal of that time. Sasuke is smart, hard-working and intelligent. He always tries his best, and can be stubborn about doing things his way. We know he will have a happy and successful life, because he always goes after what he wants whole-heartedly." Naruto was fairly certain that Gaara's eyes had flicked to him just then. "Most of all, we would just like to wish him a happy, healthy and successful future, and we hope to continue our friendship with you. Er, thanks." Amid friendly applause, he stepped back into the crowd to stand beside Neji.

Now that the cake and song had been done, guests felt free to begin leaving the party, many with work to get up to in the morning. Drifting between the yard and the front door, Sasuke spent the next half an hour thanking guests for attending and bidding them goodnight. At 11.30pm, Shikamaru and Chouji (who had a container of leftovers tucked neatly beneath his arm) were the last to leave. After shutting the front door for the final time, Sasuke sighed as he plonked himself down on the living room sofa next to Naruto.

"That," he yawned, "was good. Tiring, but good. There's no real mess out there, so cleaning will only take half an hour or so."

"True. My eighteenth was a nightmare – just about everyone was drunk and knocking things over," he replied, chuckling over the memory. "There was so much broken stuff in the yard, I got blasted by my parents in the morning. Hey, shall we head up to bed and leave the cleaning for the morning?"

At the mention of heading to bed, Sasuke went still, heart suddenly pounding. Bed. With Naruto. Beside him, Naruto grinned, noticing Sasuke's abrupt stillness. "You go up first, Sasuke. I have to put a few of the spoilable dishes into the fridge." Sasuke just nodded, standing and practically fleeing upstairs. In Naruto's bedroom, he was surprised to find that the room was lit only by the bedside lamp, the sheets were clean, the doona and blankets were folded back and in the middle of the bed there was a small, red velvet box and a card with '_Sasuke_' printed in Naruto's best handwriting.

He opened the card and read:

_Dear Sasuke,_

_ Happy 18__th__ Birthday! First let me say that this is a milestone in your life, and I hope you can remember it in a positive light and with fondness._

_The day I met you was one of the worst days of your life. Sitting alone on the front porch, you looked so young, so innocent. And then I brought you home with me, and from the moment I held you that night, I knew I wanted you for myself._

_You are beautiful – all pale skin, dark eyes, dark hair… I could look at you forever and never be bored. I love everything I have come to know about you, and I want to know more. I adore your insecurities, your possessiveness, your stubborn attitude, your intelligence, your wicked sense of humour and even the cheeky way you taunt and tease me when I'm _trying_ to behave._

_I know we still have a lot to learn about each other, and we have only lived together for a couple of months, but I feel that you will be in my life for a long time to come._

_I hope that you will accept this gift from me and treasure it… It's custom made, especially for you._

_Much love,_

_Naruto. Xo_

Sasuke opened the velvet box and his breath caught in his throat. It was beautiful. Nestled inside the box was a necklace that hung from a long sterling silver chain. The sterling silver at the bottom of the pendent had been moulded into the shape of a nest, above the nest, onyx had been set into the silver to form a cheeky crow dropping stolen jewellery into the nest. The centre of the pendent showed clasped in the crow's beak was a ring, the gem of which was the focal point of the pendent. Set in place as the stone of the ring was red fire black opal**. It was, simply put, stunning.

Naruto chose that moment to enter the room, a shy smile adorning his lips. "Do you like it?" Sasuke slipped the necklace out of the box and around his neck, before crossing the room to pull Naruto down into a hot and heavy kiss, that left them both breathless. Once he caught his breath, Naruto smiled cheekily, before saying, "So you like it that much, hey?"

Sasuke looked up at him seriously. "I will cherish it forever," he replied simply.

Naruto's eyes warmed, with both love and lust. Grabbing Sasuke by the hand, he pulled him over the king sized double bed, moving the velvet box and the card to the bedside table. Naruto sat in the middle of the bed, cross-legged and gestured for Sasuke to move onto his lap. Sasuke straddled him, locking his legs together around Naruto's waist. Naruto's hands were suddenly roaming freely beneath Sasuke's shirt, fingers seeking out his sensitive nipples, gently tweaking them.

Sasuke leaned over and placed a chaste kiss on Naruto's lips. Naruto responded by leaning forward and deepening the kiss. He nibbled on Sasuke's lower lip, then began to suck the sensitive spot on his neck, and Sasuke moaned, unsure of whether the pleasure was originating from the fingers on his chest or the lips at his throat. Naruto leant back a moment later to admire the small purple love bite that had appeared on Sasuke's neck.

"Pretty," he murmured. "I like knowing I put that mark on your neck." Then his hands moved to the shirt that Sasuke wore, tugging at it, urging him to take it off. Sasuke complied, lifting his arms as Naruto pulled the shirt up to reveal the flat, lean chest that lay beneath. Tracing patterns against Sasuke's skin raised gooseflesh, much to Naruto's delight. He leant down and sucked Sasuke's nipple into his mouth and teased him, using teeth, tongue and fingers. When he pulled away, the erect little nub was a rosy red.

"No fair," whispered Sasuke breathlessly. "You're still fully clothed."

"Hmm, I can remedy that," smiled Naruto, pulling off his shirt. While his hands were occupied, Sasuke took the opportunity to undo Naruto's jeans, gleefully realising that once again there were no underpants beneath.

"Naruto…you went without underwear again? In front of all the guests?" This time it was Sasuke's turn to feel delighted when Naruto's suntanned cheeks turned red.

"If you recall, _you_ laid out my clothes on the bed for me this evening…since you didn't include underwear in the combination, I figured that you were making a birthday request," he responded, grinning. Even embarrassment didn't bring his mood down. Sasuke opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, Naruto was back to gently nipping and licking his sensitive nipples, making him whimper.

Sasuke's slid his hands across Naruto's now bare chest. The skin beneath his hands was warm and soft, like there was some internal heater warming Naruto from within. Sliding his hands between them to the pants he'd unzipped mere moments ago, he reached for Naruto's cock, which was already half-hard. With a few gentle but firm strokes, Naruto was fully erect and Sasuke felt satisfied when he felt Naruto moan briefly against his chest.

Naruto reached down between them to stop Sasuke from moving his hand. Placing a light kiss on Sasuke's cheek, he leant closer to Sasuke's ear and whispered huskily, "Pants off." Sasuke swallowed audibly and nodded minutely, knowing Naruto would feel the movement. Sliding off of Naruto's lap and facing away from the bed, he tugged at his pants and underwear until they dropped to the ground, pooling around his ankles. His hands went to the necklace to remove it, but Naruto's words stopped him. "Leave it…I want to look at you tonight wearing nothing but my gift."

Sasuke took a breath before turning to face Naruto, and let it out in one big whoosh when he realised that Naruto was also completely disrobed. It was a breathtaking experience to see in front of him the lean, lightly muscled man sitting on the bed, waiting for him. He forgot his own nudity as he moved towards Naruto, who's skin was beautifully tanned and toned. He saw the appreciation in Naruto's eyes as he crawled across the bed, and his heart thumped so loudly he felt that Naruto must surely have heard it too.

Sitting back on Naruto's lap in the same position as before, it felt completely different now. Pressed skin to skin was so much more intimate, so warm. Naruto traced circles on Sasuke's back as he drew him down for a kiss. Sasuke's eyes closed as Naruto's tongue plundered his mouth demandingly. When Naruto twisted back, breaking the kiss, Sasuke's eyes popped open to find Naruto pulling a bottle lube that he must have stowed beneath his pillow earlier. Sasuke's heart raced as he watched Naruto pour some of the clear, slippery liquid onto his fingers.

"Come kiss me, Sasuke," said Naruto, leaning forward invitingly. Sasuke accepted the invitation, resting his hands on Naruto's shoulders as Naruto thoroughly took his breath away, kiss by kiss. He felt Naruto's fingers slide along his crack and he shuddered remembering last time, pressed against the kitchen wall. Naruto's slick fingers finally arrived at his tight, pink opening. Gently, Naruto eased his index finger past the tightened ring of flesh. When his finger was fully embedded in the raven haired youth, Naruto stroked that sweet spot inside him that made him tremble.

"Haaa…nn…" Sasuke moaned.

"Sasuke…you need to relax…I'm going to add a finger…we need to make sure you're properly stretched so I don't hurt you too much…" said Naruto, his voice becoming deeper. Sasuke threw back his head as he felt a second finger push at his entrance. Sasuke panted as both of Naruto's fingers slid slowly inside him. This time, Naruto began to softly thrust his fingers into Sasuke, causing him to cry out with pleasure. Naruto slowed down and began to scissor his fingers to loosen Sasuke when much to his surprise, Sasuke, missing the friction from moments before, began to raise and lower himself onto Naruto's fingers.

Naruto struggled to keep control of himself for a moment, almost over-whelmed by the images burning into his brain of the dark haired youth pushing himself onto Naruto's fingers, head thrown back, eyes closed, mouth ajar and moaning sweetly.

Voice rough with desire, Naruto said, "Roll onto your stomach, Sasuke…lift your hips for me." Sasuke's anus clamped down as Naruto removed his fingers, as if unwilling to let them go. Sasuke's breath came in pants as he shifted into the position Naruto had asked. His chest was pressed to the smooth surface of the cotton sheets, his hips were raised invitingly and he had turned his head to watch Naruto with lust filled eyes.

Naruto, in the process of adding lubricant to his stiff, seeping cock, caught Sasuke's look and rumbled possessively, "You are _mine_, my Sasuke." He dribbled some more of the cold liquid over Sasuke's rosebud which was aching to be filled. Moving behind Sasuke, Naruto pressed his cock against the well-lubricating opening. Reaching his arm around to the front, Naruto began to lightly stroke Sasuke's cock as he pushed into his ass. Naruto increased the pressure and he suddenly popped past Sasuke's tight sphincter.

"Ahhh!" Sasuke cried out, the feeling currently more painful than pleasurable, his hands clutching at the sheets beneath his hands. Naruto kept still behind him, allowing the youth's body adjust to the large intrusion. Still inside Sasuke, Naruto resumed stroking Sasuke's hardened cock. A few deep breaths later, Sasuke was no longer in pain, but was still unused to the sensation of being so filled. Biting his bottom lip, he hesitatingly started to slide back on to Naruto's cock. Finally, he felt his ass hit Naruto's hips and realised he was fully impaled on Naruto's cock and he shuddered.

"Oh, God…you're so deep…please…"

"Sasu…I'm going to start moving now…" came Naruto's strained voice from behind him. His control was on the verge of dissipating, as he slowly drew himself out of Sasuke's super tight behind. He pushed back in and listened to the small series of moans Sasuke made. Finding that Sasuke was no longer in discomfort, Naruto picked up the pace. "Fuck, Sasuke…you're so tight…and so hot…"

Sasuke's only response was to press back more forcefully, meeting Naruto's thrust with his own. Naruto sped up his thrusts, the stimulation to Sasuke more fulfilling than it had been before. Sasuke could feel the pleasure building. Behind him Naruto was beginning to lose his timing and his hand stroked Sasuke's cock relentlessly; their moans of pleasure mingling and filling the air.

Suddenly, it was like firecrackers went off for Sasuke; he cried out in ecstasy as his body arched and tightened, he spurted copious amounts of cum into Naruto's hand. Behind him, Naruto also cried out as Sasuke's body tightened around him and pulled him into the pleasurable abyss that they had both been striving for. Sasuke shuddered a second time as he felt Naruto's hot seed coat his insides.

Once the rolling wave of pleasure began to fade, Sasuke's body went limp beneath Naruto. The blonde eased his now soft cock out of Sasuke before collapsing behind him for a few minutes. Naruto tenderly turned Sasuke over to face him. Sasuke's eyes were hooded and dreamy, his breathing slow and deep.

"Are…are you okay, Sasuke? I hope I didn't hurt you too much."

Sensing Naruto's concern and anxiety, Sasuke smiled languidly. "That," he said, "was the most amazing experience of my life… I would ask if we could do it again, but I don't think I can move."

Naruto chuckled, relieved to see that Sasuke was fine, if a little worn out. Throwing the dirtied top sheet off the bed, Naruto pulled Sasuke in to curl against his body, pulling a light blanket over them from the end of the bed. Sasuke looked up at Naruto and asked, "How was it for you?"

Naruto leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. "It was perfect," he smiled. "I've never been anybodies first before, but I'm glad I was yours." After flicking off the lamp, Sasuke felt Naruto sliding under the blanket beside him. Sasuke rolled over, hoping Naruto would pick up the hint. He shuffled across a little, then rolled to face the same direction as Sasuke, spooning him with one hand settling on Sasuke's hip. Just as he was falling asleep, Sasuke reached up and slid his hand into Naruto's before nodding off with a smile on his face.

_The crack beneath the door glowed. That had to mean there were some pretty bright lights on in there. He was standing outside his and Naruto's house, and it was dusk. But it obviously couldn't be dusk, since he had just fallen asleep. So this must be a dream. A gentle breeze tousled his hair, and he moved to open the front door, to see why the lights were so bright. And there in front of him stood Naruto and his own family. "Welcome home," smiled his Mom, her standing behind Naruto's shoulder. A tear of mixed joy and sadness rolled down his cheek as he went to greet his family…_

Sasuke's eyes cracked open and he glanced at the clock. The glowing numerals said 3:47am. As his eyes began to shut, in that hazy place between sleep and wakefulness, the thought flitted past his mind that even though things were still hard, it could all be okay, because he had somewhere to call home…

x-x-x-x-x

A/N: Hey all. Sorry for the long as wait for what I am calling the final chapter of FM xD I had 2000 words of this chapter written up, had a major blah-I-got-nothing spell, then deleted everything and started the chapter over. It turned out much better xD

Sooo…about this chapter. Any opinions, good, bad or other? I don't know if anyone feels like this is unfinished, but I was considering writing a follow on from this if anyone is interested. If you are interested in me writing a follow on, just comment or pm and I will start that as one of my next projects =]

And finally I want to thank everyone who's followed along from the start, and has commented and _hopefully_ you have enjoyed it. Special shout-out to NoNameNeeded for letting me have some ramble time, lol b(^_^)d It was definitely what you said about not wanting to post half-assed chapters that kicked me into gear and help me get a move on (^_~)

~dusk. xo

*I'm not sure about other countries, but in Aus, if the knife touches the plate when you are making the first cut into your birthday cake, you are supposed to kiss the person of the opposite gender that is physically standing closest to you (^_^)

**www . blackopalworld . com / solidredfireblackopal535ct-p-155 . html -look how pretty it is (^_^)


	10. More Than Words

More than Words - [Sequel to Finding More]

Warning: **Lime**, NaruSasu pairing, AU/AH, slash, yaoi, romance, mature, hurt/comfort

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Disclaimer:

I do not own any of the characters; they belong to the brilliant Kishimoto.

Chapter One

Sasuke hit the button locking his car, and trudged up the driveway. He couldn't wait to get inside and dump his bag, the heavy university textbooks pulling at his shoulders. The door was already unlocked and the kitchen light had been left on so that he wouldn't come home to a dark house. Though there was a note on the table indicating that there were leftovers in the fridge,he decided to go upstairs having already eaten on campus earlier that evening.

Flicking off the kitchen light, he heaved his bag up onto his shoulder and climbed the staircase as quietly as he could. He lightly placed his bag on the ground in the hallway before entering and he could see that the en suite light had been left on to cast a dim glow across the room. The glowing red numerals on the bedside clock informing him that it was almost 11:45pm on a Wednesday night. He started to undress, listening to the steady, deep breathing of his boyfriend of three years, Naruto.

After pulling on a pair of boxer shorts, he crossed the room quietly and crawled into bed, feeling Naruto stir beside him.

"Sas'ke? 'Sat you?" Naruto mumbled sleepily. He rolled over, sighing happily as he slung his arm across Sasuke's stomach. He'd always loved cuddling up to whomever he was sleeping with, and since he'd been sleeping beside Sasuke for practically all of these last three years, it now didn't feel right without him there.

Sasuke rolled his eyes in the dim light of the room. "Of course it's me, you dork. Who else would be crawling into bed beside you? Or do you have something to tell me?" Naruto gave a low chuckle before responding.

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A/N: Hey all,

To my delight, there was a good response showing an interest in the continuation of _Finding More_. Inspiration struck, so I made a start on _More Than Words_ straight away. I am posting the first few paragraphs of MTW here, but to read the rest of chapter one (and eventually other chapters) please go to the my stories section on my profile page, or use the search function, to continue following my NaruSasu story (^_^)

Hope that you will continue to enjoy it!

~dusk. xo


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